Kumar Mangalam Birla's aircraft lands in Mumbai after London trip as group raises ₹4,730 crore for Vodafone Idea

Kumar Mangalam Birla's Gulfstream G550, registered as VT-BRS, was tracked departing London Luton Airport (EGGW) on June 26 and arriving at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (VABB) after a 9-hour, 41-minute flight. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet and a top ground speed of 497 knots.

If Kumar Mangalam Birla was aboard, he would have returned to Mumbai the same week his Aditya Birla Group secured shareholder approval for a ₹4,730 crore equity infusion into Vodafone Idea, per a Business Today report on June 12. The funding, via convertible warrants at ₹11 apiece, is earmarked for capital expenditure and debt reduction, and would raise the group's stake in the telecom operator from 9.6% to 13% post-conversion. Birla has described the rebuilding of Vodafone Idea as having "begun."

The flight follows a pattern of international travel by the aircraft, which was in the London area on June 24 after earlier domestic hops between Mumbai, Delhi, and other Indian cities. The Aditya Birla Group's Gulfstream fleet supports oversight of a conglomerate spanning 36 countries, with the telecom turnaround now a central focus alongside financial services and manufacturing.