in
GMR Airports
8
Airports
4
Countries
67
Reports
Like the aviation industry as a whole, India’s largest private airport company, GMR Airports (part of the diversified GMR Group), has had a tough time during the COVID19 crisis. This is especially so in recent weeks during India’s latest surge in Covid infections and deaths which has been both tragic and devastating.
The seismic second wave started in mid-March. The wave hit just as domestic air traffic in India was stabilizing. Passenger volumes on the sub-continent (measured in RPK) are in track to be down by 32% versus 2019, bettered only by Russia and China according to IATA. But the official April and May numbers for India, not yet available, will have gone into reverse.
As the 64% owner and operation of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) – India’s busiest hub before and during the pandemic – GMR has felt the impact of reduced passengers – especially international – for many months now. In the quarter ending December 2020, traffic at DEL fell by 60% year-on-year to 7.6 million, but was up by 84% quarter-on-quarter.
The same trend was seen at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) where infrastructure group GMR first entered the airports space in 2003, and where it currently has a 63% stake. In the same period, HYD’s YoY traffic is expected to be down by 50% to 3 million but up ~85% QoQ.
Pandemic Resurgence
The second wave has put an end to the QoQ increases for the time being. As part of India’s Association of Private Airport Operators, which also includes airports controlled by Adani Group, GMR has recently appealed to the government for financial help and is hoping for a positive response. It cited daily passenger numbers at DEL plummeting to just 20-25,000 by mid-May.
For its part, the Indian government has been very keen to support PPP efforts to date and had been pushing ahead with its privatization agenda. Despite the second wave, that agenda remains intact officially, although traffic recovery forecasts will likely be torn up and rewritten.
Subscriber-only content. You must be signed in and have a subscription plan to view this information.
Subscribers receive access to value-added content including the latest Deal Pipeline intel, in-depth feature articles and analysis, operator/investor profiles, industry insights, reports and much more.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin faucibus arcu et sem dapibus, faucibus viverra ex semper. Sed maximus urna quis lectus porta gravida. Sed enim sem, ullamcorper at tempor et, tincidunt eget purus. Etiam vitae iaculis dolor. Etiam commodo tempus turpis. Integer ac nunc ac leo facilisis tempus. Pellentesque quis sagittis diam. Fusce congue pulvinar interdum. Curabitur porta libero enim, ullamcorper condimentum diam accumsan quis. In tempor egestas risus, id congue nibh cursus in. Cras sollicitudin fermentum orci et eleifend.
Nam eget imperdiet risus, at luctus nulla. Nullam porttitor, est quis viverra fringilla, ipsum velit tincidunt massa, vel egestas lacus velit eget mauris. Proin finibus condimentum tellus, in commodo felis dapibus a. Curabitur luctus et sapien a dapibus. Mauris faucibus dapibus justo vitae varius. Proin quis mauris eros. Curabitur tincidunt feugiat dignissim.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin faucibus arcu et sem dapibus, faucibus viverra ex semper. Sed maximus urna quis lectus porta gravida. Sed enim sem, ullamcorper at tempor et, tincidunt eget purus. Etiam vitae iaculis dolor. Etiam commodo tempus turpis. Integer ac nunc ac leo facilisis tempus.