India’s aviation landscape is set for another structural transformation—and possibly the most significant since the country’s first rounds of privatization awards in 2006. Multiple media reports have suggested the Indian government is preparing a third round next year, with several Airports Authority of India (AAI) gateways earmarked.

To get the ball rolling, a public-private partnership (PPP) model was used successfully for India’s biggest hubs serving large metros like Delhi and Mumbai. Then came the 2019-2021 handover of six regional gateways to Adani Group. Now, a new list of 11 state-owned airports has been confirmed and will be offered to private operators.

The latest batch has come together on the back of an ambitious project for sustainable infrastructure financing called the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP). The strategy is more than simply outsourcing to expert global airport operators and adding to state coffers.

Airport assets are being bundled to ensure that the rapid growth of Indian aviation—helped by the speedy expansion of India’s middle class—goes beyond the sub-continent’s metros and into the regions where the nation’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities are expected to drive future growth.

By mid-2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and AAI seemed to have settled on a bundling strategy for the third phase of airport privatization. Tranches are nothing new in airport PPPs; Brazil has been a leader in this field. However, it is novel in the Indian market, where airports were previously bid out individually or as a single batch.

This round is likely to see five relatively high-traffic and profitable airports paired with six smaller, regional gateways. Below, airportIR looks in more detail at the 11 airports going under the hammer, and why they might appeal to potential investors.

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