Adani's Mumbai airport puts Navi Mumbai flight shift on hold after airline pushback

The proposed shift of 265 weekly international departures from Mumbai Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport has been deferred until the summer schedule beginning in March 2027 following airline objections. The move was planned to facilitate the redevelopment of Mumbai Airport's Terminal 1.

The proposed partial shift of international flights from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has been deferred until the summer schedule beginning March 2027, following discussions between airport operator Adani Airports Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and airline representatives on Tuesday, ANI reported.

The decision follows opposition from airlines to the proposed transition, which was intended to facilitate the redevelopment of Mumbai airport’s ageing Terminal 1 (T1), according to the report.

Both Mumbai airport and NMIA are operated by AAHL.

According to a statement issued by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the airport operator’s senior leadership, including Jeet Adani and Arun Bansal, assured airlines that disruptions would be minimised and existing slot allocations respected.

The operator also committed to making no changes to airline slots during the winter schedule.

Why was the flight shift deferred?

The proposed transition had triggered concerns among airlines over operational disruptions and the impact of shifting international services between the two airports during the winter schedule, according to ANI.

The proposal involved shifting 265 of Mumbai airport’s 770 weekly international departures to NMIA, effective October 25, to facilitate the redevelopment of T1.

The move was also intended to free up capacity at Terminal 2 to accommodate domestic operations affected by the redevelopment.

However, airlines raised objections over the potential impact on their schedules and the operational challenges of transferring services between the two airports.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation subsequently intervened and asked the airport operator to defer the proposed changes while stakeholders worked towards a coordinated plan, as per the report.

Joint working group to prepare redevelopment plan

MIAL said a joint working group would prepare an implementation plan for the redevelopment of T1 over the next two weeks.

The airport operator also assured airlines that they would receive full support if they wished to shift some of their operations to NMIA.

“They have assured the airline community of minimisation of disruption and have assured them of fully respecting historical slot allocations. They have further given a commitment not to disturb any slots for the winter schedule,” a MIAL spokesperson said in a statement, according to ANI.

The meeting concluded with both sides expressing a renewed commitment to developing Mumbai airport to the standards expected by the city’s residents, the spokesperson added.

MIAL said a follow-up meeting between the airport operator and airline representatives would be held on October 28, as per ANI.

In the meantime, the operator will reportedly engage with the network and slot-allocation teams of individual airlines to work out the next steps.

With inputs from ANI.

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