New Delhi, May 23: GMR Airports on Friday reported an increase in its consolidated loss to Rs 253 crore for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, even as the company’s total income increased during this period.

The company had made a loss of Rs 168 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

GMR Airports said in a regulatory filing that its total income rose to Rs 2,977 crore in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 from Rs 2,570 crore in the year-ago period.

During the fourth quarter, EBITDA stood at Rs 1,122.74 crore in the March quarter 2025, registering a growth of 19.39 per cent YoY.

Total expenses shot up 13.73 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,854.02 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2025. Cost of materials consumed stood at Rs 42.80 crore, employee benefits expenses were at Rs 393.52 crore, and other expenses were at Rs 586.63 crore in Q4 FY25

For the full financial year 2024-25, the company’s loss worked out to Rs 817 crore compared to the loss of Rs 829 crore in the same period a year ago.

GMR Airports Ltd (GAL) operates the Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mopa (Goa) airports. Besides, it is developing the Bhogapuram Airport in Andhra Pradesh.

“Total passenger traffic at GAL-owned airports increased by 9 per cent year-on-year, 31.5 million in Q4 FY25, and 9 per cent year-on-year to 120.5 million in FY25,” the regulatory filing said.

GAL is also operating Medan Airport in Indonesia and developing Crete Airport in Greece as part of its overseas ventures.

GAL said the tariff order issued by regulator AERA for the fourth control period ending March 31, 2029, would significantly improve the aero revenue of its operations at the Delhi airport, which in turn would lead to an increase in the overall profitability and cash flow generation at DIAL and the company.

The tariff order came into effect on April 16, 2025.

“The financials of DIAL and GAL would have been better, had this order been issued during FY25,” the filing said.

The GAL share prices fell over 2 per cent to Rs 87.08 apiece in late afternoon trade on BSE.

New Delhi, May 23: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking action against Maharashtra government officials over protocol lapses during Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai’s first visit to the state on May 18 after taking over the country’s highest judicial post.

A bench of CJI Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih opined that the plea was filed with an intent to obtain “cheap publicity” and termed it a “publicity interest litigation”.

The bench refrained from imposing exemplary costs but asked the PIL litigant to deposit a cost of Rs 7,000.

In its order, the apex court said that soon after CJI Gavai expressed displeasure over the protocol lapse, senior Maharashtra government officials, including the Chief Secretary, came to meet him and expressed regret.

The top court, in a press statement released on Tuesday, said that CJI Gavai stressed that a “trivial issue should not be blown out of proportion” and requested everyone that “the matter be given a quietus”.

Following his taking oath as the 52nd CJI, Justice Gavai on Sunday (May 18) travelled to Mumbai for a felicitation programme by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. “If the Chief Justice of India is visiting Maharashtra for the first time, and the state’s Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the Mumbai Police Commissioner don’t feel it appropriate to be present, then they need to reflect on that. There’s nothing new about the protocol — it’s a matter of respect from one constitutional institution to another,” the CJI said.

“It’s a question of respect by the other organs of the institution to the judiciary,” he added.

The three pillars of democracy — the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive — are equal, and every organ of the Constitution must reciprocate and show respect to the other, he had said. Following the episode, the Maharashtra government issued protocol guidelines to ensure adherence to official decorum during the visit of the Chief Justice of India to Mumbai and other parts of the state. It designated the CJI as a Permanent State Guest in Maharashtra under the State Guest Rules, 2004. Accordingly, the Chief Justice of India will continue to be entitled to all protocol-related facilities, including accommodation, vehicle arrangements, and security throughout the state during visits.

New Delhi, May 23: The pilots of the IndiGo plane, which was damaged in rough weather en route to Srinagar, were denied permission by the Lahore ATC to venture briefly into Pakistan airspace to escape the hailstorm, in complete violation of humanitarian norms.

India’s civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, said the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of approximately 36,000 feet near Punjab’s Pathankot when it ran into a thunderstorm and hailstorm.

Experiencing severe turbulence, the crew first requested the Northern ATC of the Indian Air Force to allow the flight to deviate towards the International Border. However, the request was denied because it was felt that the plane would face danger from the Pakistan side due to the recently witnessed intense hostilities between India and the neighbouring country during Operation Sindoor.

The pilot then sought permission from the Lahore air traffic control (ATC) to briefly venture into Pakistani airspace to avoid the storm. But it was refused, too.

With limited options left, the pilot initially considered returning to Delhi. However, since the aircraft was close to the “thunderstorm cloud”, returning was considered an unsafe option. The pilot then decided to continue forward through the storm towards Srinagar on the shortest possible route, the DGCA statement said.

While navigating the thunderstorm, the aircraft encountered “extreme updrafts and downdrafts”, leading to the autopilot disengaging and its speed fluctuating.

“While in the thunderstorm cloud, warnings of an angle of attack fault, alternate saw protection lost, and unreliable airspeed indications were triggered,” the statement further said.

The DGCA said that at one point, the aircraft’s rate of descent reached 8,500 feet per minute. It further said that the crew took manual control of the aircraft during this critical phase till exiting the hailstorm.

The pilot then declared an emergency to the Srinagar ATC, which then activated radar vectors. The flight eventually landed safely in Srinagar with no reported injuries to any of the passengers or crew.

The DGCA said that the plane made a safe landing with the auto thrust system operated manually.

There was no injury to any of the passengers on board the flight. A post-flight check revealed damage to the nose of the aircraft. A full-fledged investigation has been launched into the incident, the statement added.