Vandalism at Mumbai airport: Branding in compliance with govt norms, says Adani Airport

Amid controversy over the renaming of the Mumbai airport, Adani Airports has said no change has been made to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport's branding and that branding at the airport is in compliance with the government guidelines.

Earlier today, Shiv Sena workers vandalised boards naming Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as Adani Airport. They said their party is opposed to renaming the Mumbai airport after the Adani group. Notably, Shiv is part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.

Also read: Adani Group takes over control of Mumbai International Airport from GVK Group

"In light of the incidents around Adani Airports branding at the Mumbai International Airport, we firmly assure that Adani Airports Holding Limited (AAHL) has merely replaced the previous branding with Adani Airports branding and that no change has been made to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport's branding or positioning at the terminal. The branding at CSMIA is in compliance with the norms and guidelines of Airport Authority of India (AAI)," an Adani airport spokesperson said.

The company has said it will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large.

Also read: Adani Group to enter petrochemicals business, sets up Adani Petrochemicals

MIAL is India's second busiest airport by both passenger and cargo traffic. Adani Airports, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd, had taken over the management control of Mumbai airport from the GVK Group in July. After the acquisition, Adani controlls 74 per cent of the airport, with 50.5 per cent bought from GVK Group and 23.5 per cent from minority partners Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Bidvest group.

With the addition of MIAL, Adani group controls 33 per cent of India's air cargo traffic. It has also become the owner of India's largest airport infrastructure company and accounts for 25 per cent of all airport footfalls.

Also read: Adani seeks $1 billion to refinance Mumbai airport debt