Adani Airports to invest ₹10,000 crore in Lucknow expansion; capacity to touch 14 million by FY27

Adani Airports is making a big bet on Uttar Pradesh’s aviation hub with a planned investment of ₹10,000 crore for the expansion of Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) in a phased manner, an Adani Airports official told Business Today. The investment will focus on capacity expansion, modernisation, technology adoption, and cargo infrastructure over the coming years.

The airport, which has already utilised ₹2,401 crore in capital expenditure for a new terminal and landside road infrastructure, currently operates at a passenger handling capacity of 8 million passengers annually. By 2026-27, this capacity will rise to 14 million passengers, as the airport completes Terminal 3, Phase 2, with an additional investment of ₹900 crore.

“The intent is to build on commonality through swing operations so that the same facility can be used for managing international and domestic traffic depending upon traffic peaks. This fusion of meaningful modernisation, technology, and encouragement to art and culture will create a seamless passenger experience,” the official said.

At present, the airport has seven aerobridges fully operational and can handle Type D aircraft, with parking capacity for 15 aircraft at a time. The network has also been expanding steadily, with Lucknow now connected to 42 non-stop destinations — 31 domestic and 11 international routes. International passengers account for nearly 19% of total traffic, while Lucknow contributes around 4% to Uttar Pradesh’s GDP.

Looking ahead, Adani Airports is eyeing an aggressive push in both passenger and cargo operations. The company has set a target of creating 50,000 metric tonnes of cargo capacity within the next five years, while also adding new international routes to Vietnam, Singapore and other destinations.