Key facts
- Shops at Adani's Mumbai airport found selling nicotine pouches illegally
- Finding reported exclusively by Reuters
- Nicotine pouches are banned or restricted in several Indian states
- Adani Group has operated Mumbai airport since 2022
Indian authorities have determined that retail outlets at Adani Group-operated Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai sold nicotine pouches in contravention of applicable law, according to an exclusive report by Reuters. The finding places Adani's airport management arm under fresh regulatory scrutiny.
Nicotine pouches occupy a contested legal space in India: several states have banned them alongside gutka and other tobacco-adjacent products under provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act and related regulations. Their sale inside an airport — where the operator bears responsibility for ensuring tenant compliance — raises questions about the adequacy of Adani's internal compliance and monitoring systems.
Adani Group took over the operations of Mumbai airport in 2022 and has since expanded its aviation footprint across multiple Indian cities. The conglomerate has faced sustained scrutiny since the Hindenburg Research short-seller report in early 2023, making any fresh finding of regulatory non-compliance at a flagship asset particularly sensitive from a reputational standpoint.
The immediate regulatory consequence — whether a fine, a directive to remove the products, or a broader audit — was not detailed in the initial reporting. But the disclosure is likely to prompt questions in Parliament and from the Airports Authority of India about standards of retail oversight at privately managed airports nationwide.