Foreign Airlines Back Moving Some Mumbai Flights To Navi Mumbai Airport

Foreign airlines operating from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) have recommended moving select international services to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on a destination basis while Terminal 1 (T1) is rebuilt, sources said, citing the airport operator's letter to the government.

Sources said the Mumbai International Airport Ltd chief airport officer Vishnu Mohan Jha has written to the civil aviation secretary, saying the airlines recommended the arrangement to Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), which operates CSMIA.

This follows Indian carriers IndiGo, Air India Group and Akasa Air already agreeing to move services.

From March 28, 2027, the start of the IATA Summer Schedule, CSMIA will temporarily suspend slots for 14 international destinations, and affected airlines may operate those flights from NMIA. The destinations are Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.

The approach would put all flights on each route at one airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) rather than split them between two. About 91 per cent of CSMIA's existing capacity would be unaffected, according to the letter.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd needs to move about 5 million passengers per annum (mppa) of traffic out of CSMIA, with the Indian carriers' plans accounting for about 3 mppa.

The letter asked members of the airline operators committee to propose by November 3 which slots they could move voluntarily. Failing that, it said MIAL would move all flights to the 14 destinations. That, it said, "will ensure that all flights from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to these international destinations are available at ONE airport".

It added that this would mean "seamless onward connections, minimal passenger inconvenience, and integrated travel experience." The letter called the suggestion that the transition is "abrupt or unilateral" as "unfounded".

IndiGo said on October 25 it will progressively move 12 daily international departures to NMIA, taking its international network there to 12 destinations between February and July 2027.

Air India Group said the same day that Air India Express will start four daily domestic flights from NMIA in December 2026. Planned Kuwait services, subject to approvals, and existing Oman services follow from January 2027. Services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah are due to move by Northern Summer 2027.

Akasa Air said on October 27 that it will fly Mumbai-Jeddah from NMIA from December 2026.

T1, commissioned in 1964, has a designed capacity of 15 mppa. Structural audits by Structwel in 2017 and IIT Bombay in 2024 flagged concerns with the infrastructure, the statement said. MIAL's letter described the redevelopment as delayed for over nine years.

Demolition is due to begin in April 2027 and proceed in phases. The rebuilt terminal would have 20 mppa capacity. Contact stands would rise from seven to 25, check-in counters from 74 to 109 and baggage belts from five to 11. Security lanes would grow from eight to 15, plus five for transfer passengers. The airlines' joint releases with AAHL put completion at 2030.

At Terminal 2, construction of a north-west pier is due to begin in January 2027 and be operational by March 2029, adding four domestic bus boarding gates. CSMIA's overall capacity would rise from 55 mppa to 65 mppa. MIAL said historic slots given up during the transition will be fully restored once the T2 work is complete.

NMIA has an initial capacity of 20 mppa, 15 mppa domestic and 5 mppa international, with planned expansion to 90 mppa. Its international facilities include 55 check-in counters, 24 electronic gates, 26 emigration counters and 32 immigration counters. A readiness assessment indicates runway, airside and airspace capacity for additional services, the statement said.

Under a modified variable tariff plan approved in September, new international routes at NMIA pay no landing fee in year one and half the rack rate in year two. Long-haul routes of more than 5,000 km get a discount in year three as well. NMIA is also paying cash vouchers to international passengers to offset the higher user development fee at CSMIA. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)