Delhi Airport operator DIAL sells entire 50% stake in DASPL to Bird Flight Services for nearly Rs 13 crore

NEW DELHI: DIAL, the Delhi airport operator, has divested its complete 50 per cent ownership in Delhi Aviation Services Pvt Ltd (DASPL) to Bird Flight Services (India) Pvt Ltd for nearly 13 crore. DASPL held the concession for operating bridge-mounted equipment at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), including ground power units, pre-conditioned air units and aircraft water supply services.According to a regulatory filing on Saturday, DIAL has transferred its 50 per cent shareholding in DASPL to Bird Flight Services for Rs 12.79 crore, as reported by news agency PTI.The filing indicates that DASPL is presently inactive with no business operations.Prior to this transaction, Bird Flight Services maintained a 25 per cent ownership in DASPL.This comes after a February PTI report suggested that DIAL, run by the GMR Group, was facing serious financial pressure and expected its equity to be largely wiped out. With a cumulative loss of Rs 2,900 crore till December 2024 and outstanding debt exceeding Rs 15,000 crore, the company was said to be seeking a hike in User Development Fees (UDF) for international passengers.DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said the proposed tariff revision for 2024–2029 could help the company return to profitability, but approval from the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is still pending. If the requested tariff hike is not granted, DIAL could face higher borrowing costs due to a potential credit rating downgrade.However, a later report from April quoted the CEO saying that Delhi airport expects to handle more than 24 million international passengers annually in the next 1-2 years and is working on having more connectivity to the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand. Ty, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) handles around 22 million international passengers annually and of the total, 5.5 million are connecting passenger traffic, as of April.DIAL, an entity of GMR Airports, manages the operations of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).