Shiv Sena workers allegedly vandalise Adani airports branding at Mumbai airport

The issue regarding branding in the airports run by the Adani Group surfaced in January when the Airport Authority of India (AAI) flagged that the Adani group was in violation of branding norms at the airports in Ahmedabad, Mangaluru and Lucknow.

The labour wing of Shiv Sena Bharatiya Kamgar Sena on Monday allegedly vandalised the brand logo of Adani Group near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. The Kamgar Sena workers allegedly removed the signboard bearing the name of Adani.

Police examine Adani Group name plate smashed by Shiv Sena party workers near Shivaji Maharaj statue, on the Western Express Highway, at Vile Parle, in Mumbai. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

An official also said that the agitating workers also briefly held up traffic movement in Mumbai’s arterial north-south road as they gathered on the nearby Western Express Highway. The Adani Airports Holding Limited, however, clarified that no changes were made to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s branding or positioning at the terminal.

“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). AAHL will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large,” an AAHL spokesperson said.

Adani Group after receiving the report started making changes which were seen in the Lucknow, Manglauru and Ahmedabad airports, according to the AAI. The committee last year found that Adani Group wrote ‘Adani Airports’ on both sides of Lucknow International Airport hoardings, which is in violation of the concession agreement. “The committee also found that the name and logo of the AAI was not equally and prominently displayed in other displays where the concessionaire intends to display its own name, which was again in violation of the Article 5.15.2 of the concession agreement,” the AAI said. It also found similar violations in Ahmedabad and Mangaluru.

The Adani Group in July took over the management of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from the GVK group.