Per passenger non-aero yield of Indian private airports less than one-fourth of Singapore’s US$ 16.4

New Delhi, Oct 21 (Bureau) Private Indian airport operators’ average non-aero revenue per passenger stands at US$ 3.7 which is substantially lower compared to US$ 5.7-16.4 for major airports globally, as per research firm Icra. Among key international airports with sizeable capacity, Singapore airport’s non-aero earning was highest at US$ 16.4 followed by Hong Kong airport with the average yield of US$ 15.7 per passenger.

Other airports scoring high on average per passenger non-aero revenue include Auckland (US$ 12.8), Sydney (US$ 12.3), San Francisco (US$ 11.1), Heathrow (10.7) and Miami (10.2). Non-aero revenues comprise income from duty free shops, parking, retail outlets and advertisement among others. As against this, aero revenues primarily include aircraft land and parking charges, fuel infrastructure fees etc. In its report, research firm Icra said that major private airports in India have witnessed growth at a CAGR of 12% in during FY2017-FY2020. Along with this, reduction in aeronautical revenue share due to decline in tariffs has resulted in change in aeronautical to non-aeronautical mix at major private airports from 67:33 in FY2017 to 49:51 in FY2020.

The non-aeronautical revenue share further increased to 57% in FY2021 due to higher impact of pandemic on aeronautical revenues, said Icra. “Given the evolving consumer spending behaviour, Indian airports still have a significant room for improvement. The aeronautical revenues are regulated in nature, where returns are capped; therefore, to maximise the return on capital employed, airport operators need to improve their non-aero yields,” said Rajeshwar Burla, VP & Group Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.