Deoghar AirPort 7th most profitable for AAI in FY 2022-23, overall 10th

Deoghar airport made it to the country’s top 10 most profitable airports in the financial year 2022-23 as per a profit/loss statement released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India during a recent Lok Sabha session.

With an annual profit of ₹28.84 crore in its commencing year, Deoghar Airport has surpassed the likes of Ranchi, Patna, Bhuvneshwar, Raipur, Durgapur, Darbhanga and Gaya airports to secure its 7th position amongst the 125 airports run by Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Overall, the Baidhyanath Dham situated airport stands in 10th place in terms of profitability in the last financial year, after also including the profit/loss data of the other 14 airports in the country that are being operated under Public Private Partnership (PPP).

In the data released for all 139 airports in India, 103 airports recorded losses during the same tenure, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Bhopal, Vadodara, Agartala, Imphal and Dehradun.

Deoghar Airport is developed in 401.03 crores by a joint venture of the Airports Authority of India, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the State Government of Jharkhand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 653.75-acre airport on July 12th, 2022.

In its inauguration year, the Baidhyanath Dham situated airport handled flights from Kolkata, Delhi, Ranchi and Patna, with over 70,000 passengers using its services. Deoghar Airport is currently operational in daylight only, while preparations for night landings are in the final stages.

AAI is also planning to start flight services from Deoghar to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the coming days amidst high demand, while proposals for international services are also under consideration.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made travel much easier for students, businessmen, patients and working people in the region through Deoghar Airport. The inclusion of Deoghar Airport in the top 10 profit-making airports in the country in just one year is a matter of pride. Devotees from different parts of the country are reaching Deoghar due to the launch of the air service. In the coming time, air service from Deoghar Airport to cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad is going to start.” – Dr Nishikant Dubey, MP, Godda.

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd), in response to a question from S.R.Parthiban of DMK, Member of Parliament from Salem, Tamil Nadu, shared the data report informing the profit and loss of airports in India.

The Salem MP in his question to the Minister of Civil Aviation in Lok Sabha asked for the number of airports run by the Union Government with their airport-wise annual profits or losses. In another following question, the DMK parliamentarian requested for likewise data for privately operated or managed airports.

In response to Parthiban’s questions, V. K. Singh shared a statement showing the annual profit/loss of 125 airports run by AAI, and 14 airports operated under PPP. 

As per the report, Kolkata held on to its top spot among AAI-managed airports for the second year in a row with over a threefold increase in profitability (482.30 Cr) over its previous year’s gain of 145.28 crore. Meanwhile, Chennai has seen a dramatic swing from the highest loss-making airport (-189.85 Cr) in 2021-22 to the second most profitable airport (169.56 Cr) in 2022-23.

The remaining among the top 10 profit-making airports managed by AAI are Calicut (95.38 Cr), Pune (74.94 Cr), Goa (48.39 Cr), Trichy (31.51 Cr), Srinagar (26.95 Cr), Juhu (13.31 Cr) and Coimbatore (12.65 Cr).

Among the 14 privately operated airports, only 3, namely Bangalore, Cochin and Hyderabad made profits in 2022-23. With a 528.31 crore profit, Bangalore managed to exceed not just its PPP counterparts but also outdone every other airport in India in terms of profitability. Cochin and Hyderabad registered respective profits of 267.17 Cr and 32.99 Cr.

The remaining 11 PPP Airports operated under loss in the last financial year, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Guwahati. Amongst the 125 airports run by AAI, a shocking 92 airports have also recorded a loss, while only 18 registered profits last fiscal year. 15 airports neither declared a profit or loss in 2022-23.