Adani Airports Ltd. has urged India to ease limits on how many seats foreign airlines can sell on flights to and from the country, saying the curbs are holding back its ambition to become a global aviation hub.
“In the short term, growth in Indian aviation is constrained by bilateral (air service) agreements,” Adani Airports’ Chief Executive Officer Arun Bansal said during a panel discussion at an Indian air show in Hyderabad on Wednesday (28 January 2026). “For India to become a hub, we need an open skies approach.”
The limits are designed to protect domestic airlines, but have long been a source of frustration for overseas carriers. Dubai’s Emirates SA, for example, has said demand was much higher than the weekly seat caps under the India-UAE bilateral agreement.
A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
India is the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. Adani Airports, part of billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, operates eight airports, and has plans to bid for 11 more as part of its $11-billion expansion strategy.
Indian airlines, including market leader IndiGo, have backed the government’s decision to maintain seat caps, arguing that a rapid liberalisation of bilateral deals could undermine domestic carriers that are still expanding their fleets.
