UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Will the govt. relax rules on airport-airline ownership?

Q1. With reference to the cross-ownership restrictions between airport operators and airlines currently under examination by the Government of India, consider the following: Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Under the Delhi and Mumbai concession agreements, the aggregate shareholding of scheduled airlines in the airport operator is capped at 10 per cent.
  2. The Noida International (Jewar) and Navi Mumbai concessions permit the airport operator to hold up to 26 per cent in an airline.
  3. The restriction applies uniformly to every airport in the country irrespective of its ownership pattern, because it is contained in the parent civil aviation statute.
  4. Any relaxation of the cap can be given effect by the Ministry of Civil Aviation alone, since concession terms lie entirely within its administrative discretion.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the older Delhi/Mumbai concessions with the newer Jewar and Navi Mumbai concessions: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Delhi and Mumbai caps were embedded in Operation, Management and Development Agreements executed when those two airports were handed over to private consortia in 2006, whereas the 26 per cent ceiling appears in the later Noida and Navi Mumbai concessions.
  2. Altering the Delhi and Mumbai ceiling would require a supplemental agreement negotiated with the Airports Authority of India in its capacity as grantor of those concessions.
  3. The 10 per cent ceiling at Delhi and Mumbai limits the airport operator's stake in an airline, while the 26 per cent ceiling at Jewar limits the stake airlines may hold in the airport operator.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. As stated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, how many airports in India are operating under the Public-Private Partnership model?

  • A. 6
  • B. 8
  • C. 14
  • D. 25

Q4. With reference to the institutional architecture governing airports and airlines in India, consider the following: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, constituted under an Act of 2008, determines tariffs and charges for aeronautical services at major airports.
  2. After the 2019 amendment to that Act, a 'major airport' means one with annual passenger throughput exceeding 35 lakh, besides any airport notified as such by the central government.
  3. The Airports Authority of India is the sole provider of air navigation services in the country, this being treated as a sovereign function entrusted to it.
  4. Under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security function as autonomous statutory regulators whose orders the central government cannot review or modify.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q5. The final assembly line for the E175 jet proposed under the Adani Defence and Aerospace–Embraer memorandum of understanding is intended to serve which one of the following?

  • A. India's Regional Transport Aircraft programme
  • B. The Regional Connectivity Scheme operated by the civil aviation ministry
  • C. The Regional Air Cargo Development initiative of the aviation ministry
  • D. The Regional Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul policy for civil aircraft

Q6. In the context of Embraer's recent Indian partnerships, the C-390 Millennium is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A regional passenger jet whose Indian final assembly line Embraer proposes with Adani Defence and Aerospace
  • B. A military transport aircraft that Embraer plans to introduce in India in partnership with the Mahindra Group
  • C. A turboprop basic trainer being co-developed by Embraer with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
  • D. A light utility helicopter to be built in India under an Adani Defence tie-up with an Italian manufacturer

Q7. Following the Union Cabinet's 2019 approval, the six Airports Authority of India airports awarded to Adani Enterprises Limited were leased out for a period of how many years?

  • A. 30 years
  • B. 40 years
  • C. 50 years
  • D. 60 years

Q8. Which one of the following pairs of airports was the first to be transferred to private consortia under Operation, Management and Development Agreements in India?

  • A. Cochin and Kannur
  • B. Bengaluru and Hyderabad
  • C. Delhi and Mumbai
  • D. Ahmedabad and Lucknow

Q9. With reference to the structure of India's domestic airline market as reflected in the latest available monthly data, consider the following: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. IndiGo's domestic market share in June 2026 stood at about 66 per cent, higher than its share in the preceding month.
  2. The Air India group's domestic market share declined in June 2026 to below 24 per cent.
  3. Akasa Air's domestic market share in June 2026 exceeded that of SpiceJet.
  4. India is the world's second-largest domestic aviation market, ranking ahead of China and behind only the United States.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3 only

Q10. Consider the following statements comparing India's domestic air traffic in 2026 with earlier reference periods: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Domestic passengers carried during January–June 2026 were fewer than those carried in the corresponding period of the previous year.
  2. Domestic traffic in June 2026 fell to about 13.5 million passengers from about 15.3 million in May 2026.
  3. IndiGo and the Air India group together account for close to 90 per cent of domestic capacity, a concentration the proposed cross-ownership relaxation is intended to dilute by enabling new entrants.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. With reference to mechanisms used to separate infrastructure ownership from the provision of services on that infrastructure, consider the following: Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Under the landlord port model adopted through the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021, terminals are run by private concessionaires selected through competitive bidding while the asset reverts to the port authority when the concession expires.
  2. That Act provides for an Adjudicatory Board to discharge the residual functions of the erstwhile Tariff Authority for Major Ports and to hear disputes between ports and PPP concessionaires.
  3. In the United States, federal revenue-diversion rules restrict airport income from being channelled by local governments into airline ventures.
  4. In the European Union, common ownership of an airport and an airline is expressly prohibited by law, which is why no such structure exists anywhere in the bloc.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q12. NITI Aayog, which the Ministry of Civil Aviation would consult before moving any proposal on airport–airline cross-ownership, owes its existence to which one of the following?

  • A. A resolution issued by the Cabinet Secretariat on 1 January 2015
  • B. An Act of Parliament passed in 2015 that repealed the body it succeeded
  • C. An order issued under Article 263 of the Constitution establishing an inter-State body
  • D. A notification of the Ministry of Finance under the fiscal responsibility framework