AAI Recruitment 2026 Syllabus Exam Pattern

AAI Recruitment 2026 syllabus has not been released yet by Airports Authority of India. The notification for advertisement number 12/2026/CHQ/DR-CBT confirms the syllabus will be uploaded separately, closer to the Computer Based Test. What is already confirmed is the selection process: an objective Computer Based Test with no negative marking, followed by Application Verification and, for Manager posts, an Interview. This guide covers the confirmed process plus the previous AAI Junior Executive exam pattern as a preparation reference.

AAI Recruitment 2026 selection process

Airports Authority of India has laid out a multi-stage selection process for the 389 Manager and Junior Executive vacancies under Advt No. 12/2026/CHQ/DR-CBT. Every candidate first appears for a Computer Based Test, and the later stages depend on the post applied for. AAI is a Government of India Public Sector Enterprise with Mini Ratna Category-1 status, so its recruitment process follows the standard multi-stage PSU pattern rather than a single written exam, and candidates should plan preparation time accordingly.

1. Computer Based Test (Objective Type) for all 15 post codes, with no negative marking for wrong answers.
2. Application Verification or Subsequent Tests based on Computer Based Test performance, for all posts.
3. Interview, applicable only to Post Codes 1 to 11 – all the Manager disciplines (Civil, Electrical, Finance, IT, Architecture, Law, Fire Services, Operations, Commercial, Corporate Planning and Corporate Communications).
4. For Manager (Fire Services) specifically, Application Verification is followed by a Physical Measurement Test, Driving Test and Physical Endurance Test before the interview.

Junior Executive posts – Finance, Law, Operations, and Survey and Cartography – go through Computer Based Test and Application Verification only, with no interview stage. This is an important difference candidates should note before deciding preparation priorities.

AAI Computer Based Test: previous-year exam pattern (reference)

Since the 2026 syllabus is not out yet, the table below reflects the exam pattern from the previous AAI Junior Executive (Common Cadre) recruitment cycle. It is shared purely as a preparation reference – the actual 2026 pattern may differ by post and discipline, and candidates should replace this with the official pattern once AAI publishes it.

Total: 150 questions, 120 marks, 2-hour duration, 1 mark per question, no negative marking for wrong answers – consistent with what AAI has already confirmed for the 2026 cycle in the official notification.

AAI Recruitment 2026: subject-wise topics to prepare

Based on the previous cycle’s General section and standard AAI exam coverage, candidates preparing for AAI Recruitment 2026 should focus on these areas while the official syllabus is awaited.

• English Comprehension: reading comprehension passages, grammar rules (tenses, articles, prepositions, subject-verb agreement), vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution), sentence correction and improvement, spotting errors, para jumbles, and cloze test.
• General Intelligence and Reasoning: analogies, coding-decoding, number and letter series, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms, seating arrangement (linear and circular), puzzles, statement and conclusion, and non-verbal reasoning (mirror images, figure series).
• Quantitative Aptitude / Numerical Ability: number system, percentage, ratio and proportion, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time and work, time speed and distance, average, mixture and alligation, data interpretation (tables, bar graphs, pie charts), and simplification.
• General Awareness: current affairs from the last 6-12 months, static GK (books, awards, important days), aviation sector developments and civil aviation policy, government schemes, sports, and important appointments.
• Subject Knowledge (Part B): post-specific – engineering fundamentals (structural design, surveying, estimation for Civil; power systems, electrical machines for Electrical) for technical Manager posts, finance and accounting standards, taxation and ERP concepts (SAP) for Finance posts, airport and airside operations, ground handling and airline operations concepts for Operations posts, and the relevant professional subject (contract law, architectural design principles, network administration, mass communication theory) for Law, Architecture, IT and Corporate Communications posts.

Since Part B carries half the total marks (60 of 120 in the previous cycle), candidates should not treat it as an afterthought. A Civil Engineering Manager applicant, for example, should revise core subjects like structural analysis, concrete technology, surveying and estimation and costing at the same depth as the general-ability sections, because a strong Part A score alone will not compensate for a weak Part B in a combined merit calculation.

AAI Manager (Fire Services): additional physical tests

Manager (Fire Services) candidates who clear Application Verification must also pass a Physical Measurement Test, a Driving Test, and a Physical Endurance Test before being called for interview. The Physical Endurance Test includes running, casualty carrying (lifting and carrying a sandbag), pole climbing, rope climbing, and full ladder climbing and descending. AAI has stated the detailed standards for these tests are published in the Press Note for Advt No. 12/2026/CHQ/DR-CBT, so candidates for this post should check that document directly on the official AAI website.

AAI Computer Based Test: exam-day and center rules

The official notification lays out several logistics rules candidates should know before exam day, since these affect how you plan your Computer Based Test attempt.

• The test is held at various major cities across India. Once a candidate selects a center choice, it is final; AAI can still change, cancel or reassign centers based on administrative feasibility, and no request for a change of center, date or session is entertained.
• No TA/DA (travel or dearness allowance) is paid for appearing in the Computer Based Test; candidates attend at their own expense and responsibility.
• If the test runs across more than one session, AAI equates scores across sessions to adjust for any difficulty-level differences between test batteries. A candidate is allowed to appear only once for a given post; multiple appearances lead to cancellation of candidature.
• The Computer Based Test is bilingual, in Hindi and English, except for the test of language itself.
• Test papers and questions are confidential and are not shared with anyone, including candidates, after the examination.

Common preparation mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring Part B until the last month. Since Subject Knowledge carries half the marks, leaving it for later than the general-ability sections is a common and costly mistake.
• Preparing from the wrong previous-year paper. The 150-question, 120-mark pattern shown above is from the AAI Junior Executive Common Cadre cycle; a Manager-post candidate in a technical discipline should also look for Manager-specific previous papers where available, not just Junior Executive papers.
• Skipping the interview preparation for Manager posts. Because Post Codes 1 to 11 include an interview after Application Verification, Manager candidates should not treat the Computer Based Test as the only hurdle.
• Not checking discipline-specific eligibility carefully. With 11 separate Manager disciplines and 4 separate Junior Executive disciplines, applying to the wrong post code due to a qualification mismatch can lead to rejection at Application Verification even after clearing the Computer Based Test.
• Waiting for the syllabus before starting preparation. Since AAI has not fixed a release date for the syllabus, candidates who wait risk losing weeks of preparation time; starting with the previous-cycle pattern above and adjusting once the official syllabus is out is the safer approach.

Important dates for AAI Recruitment 2026 preparation

Candidates should use the roughly one-month window between the notification and the application opening to revise reasoning, quantitative aptitude, English and general awareness, since these general sections carried 60 of 120 marks in the previous cycle and are unlikely to be dropped from the 2026 pattern.

How to prepare for the AAI Computer Based Test

1. Start with the general-ability sections – English, Reasoning, Aptitude and General Awareness – since these apply to every post code regardless of discipline.
2. For the Subject Knowledge part, revise core concepts from your own discipline’s professional syllabus (engineering fundamentals, finance and accounting standards, aviation operations, or the relevant law/architecture/IT subject) rather than generic test-prep material.
3. Practice previous-year AAI Junior Executive and similar PSU recruitment papers for question style and difficulty level, since the official 2026 paper is not out yet.
4. Track current affairs from the last 6-12 months, with extra attention to aviation, infrastructure and civil aviation ministry developments given AAI’s sector.
5. Revisit the AAI Recruitment 2026 – 389 Posts Apply guide for post-wise vacancy numbers, eligibility and application dates before finalising which post and discipline to apply for.

AAI Recruitment 2026 official resources

Global Drishti will update this syllabus and exam pattern page with the official section-wise breakdown, marks distribution and negative-marking confirmation as soon as AAI uploads it under the Syllabus column of Advt No. 12/2026/CHQ/DR-CBT – bookmark this page or check back regularly closer to the Computer Based Test date for the latest update.

Written By: GD Sarkari Naukri Desk

Tracks central and state government recruitment notifications, admit cards, results and cut-offs for Global Drishti, verified directly against official recruitment portals and notification PDFs. Trusted by students and job aspirants nationwide.