Air India Express, IndiGo to shift flights to Navi Mumbai airport in phases

Air India Express and IndiGo are preparing to move select flights in phases from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). A two-airport system is now taking shape in Mumbai, even as the redevelopment of CSMIA's Terminal 1 is planned.

Air India Express will operate four domestic flights a day from NMIA from December 2026. Select international services will follow from January 2027. IndiGo, however, will begin international flights from NMIA in February 2027 and, in the months after that, move the 12 daily international flights it operates from CSMIA there in phases.

Clearing the way for Terminal 1's redevelopment, sharing capacity between Mumbai's two airports and supporting the airlines' future expansion are part of this larger plan.

IndiGo will move all its current international flights from CSMIA to NMIA for 11 destinations: Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta. These account for 12 international flights a day. The airline is also considering an additional daily service to Kathmandu. Between February and July 2027, IndiGo's network from NMIA is expected to reach 12 destinations.

Along with the international flights, IndiGo will also move the domestic flights that connect to them from CSMIA to NMIA. Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), which operates the airport, is building facilities so that passengers can transfer easily between domestic and international flights.

The change serves two purposes for IndiGo. First, it will create room for international expansion across Asia, Africa and Europe in 2027, using its growing fleet of A320, A321 and A321XLR aircraft, without putting further strain on capacity-constrained CSMIA. Second, the domestic shift will absorb IndiGo's share of the capacity that has to be cut for the redevelopment of Terminal 1 by 2030. According to the announcement, any further changes needed in Terminal 1 services will be accommodated at Terminal 2.

IndiGo said the final dates of the shift and the new services from CSMIA will be announced once project coordination is done and the required operational approvals are received.

Air India Express will operate four domestic flights a day from NMIA from December 2026. Subject to the required approvals, its planned services to Kuwait will begin, and its current services to Oman will operate from NMIA from January 2027. Services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah will move to NMIA in phases, and the work is expected to be completed by the IATA Northern Summer 2027 season.

The Air India group said it took the step after cooperation with the airport operators, and that it is part of a broader plan covering both domestic and international services. The aim is to ease the long-awaited redevelopment of Terminal 1 and allow the group to keep serving the Mumbai market efficiently. The group also said the historicity of its current slots at CSMIA will be preserved in the shift. Operating from both airports is expected to improve connectivity in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and give passengers more choice and convenience.

The phases have been designed for a transparent, fair and proportionate redistribution of capacity between the two airports, taking into account each airline's current presence at CSMIA. As NMIA's operations grow and the redevelopment of CSMIA's Terminal 1 moves ahead, the aim is for the changes to be orderly, keep disruption to operations low and give airlines and passengers greater certainty in planning. AAHL said NMIA has been built with state-of-the-art technology, multi-modal connectivity and scalable infrastructure.

The schedules announced by the airlines do not mean all flights have already moved; they are planned schedules. IndiGo's final dates depend on project coordination and operational approvals, while Air India Express's Kuwait services depend on the required approvals.