91% of Mumbai airport's international traffic unaffected by Terminal 1 redevelopment

Terminal 1 of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) is to be redeveloped. About 91 per cent of international passenger traffic is expected to be unaffected during the work. In the summer 2027 schedule, 39 of the 50 international airlines operating at the airport will continue their flights from here.

According to people aware of the matter, the remaining 11 airlines operate about 16 flights a day to a few select destinations. Their affected services may shift to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) from the end of March 2027.

The temporary change is estimated to affect about 50 lakh passengers a year. CSMIA handles about 5.5 crore passengers a year in all, so this is roughly 9 per cent. The remaining 5 crore or so passengers will continue to use Mumbai airport during the redevelopment.

Several major foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and Turkish Airlines, will continue to operate from Terminal 2. Shifting select services is aimed at keeping passenger inconvenience low and allowing work to go on at Terminal 1. CSMIA has also assured the airlines that their existing slots will be protected during this temporary phase.

According to people associated with the project, Terminal 1 opened in 1964. Its redevelopment is mainly due to structural and safety concerns raised in audits by Structwel in 2017 and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in 2024. These assessments said the old building needed to be replaced with a modern structure that can meet current operational and safety requirements.

After redevelopment, Terminal 1's capacity will rise from 1.5 crore passengers a year (15 MPPA) to 2 crore a year (20 MPPA), an increase of about 33 per cent. The new terminal will also have better passenger processing, security checks and other airport infrastructure. The target is to make it operational by March 2029.

The change is not limited to international airlines. Domestic carriers such as IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air have also announced plans to move flights to some destinations to NMIA. The split is meant to create the space CSMIA needs for redevelopment and to keep airport operations running as far as possible. The shift of flights will also give NMIA the chance to handle more airlines.

The Terminal 1 redevelopment comes as NMIA is about to join Mumbai's air infrastructure. The new airport will take a share of the passenger and airline load on space-starved CSMIA. Keeping most international operations at Terminal 2 and sending select services to Navi Mumbai is expected to limit the impact on connectivity for passengers and airlines.

Terminal 1's capacity will increase by 50 lakh passengers a year, reaching 2 crore a year. The project is part of a larger effort to expand airport infrastructure for growing air traffic in the Mumbai region.