Foreign airlines suggest moving 14 international routes to Navi Mumbai during T1 rebuild

Foreign airlines operating from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) have suggested that some international services be moved to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), destination by destination, during the redevelopment of Terminal 1 (T1), according to sources. This is stated in a letter sent by the airport operator to the government.

According to sources, Vishnu Mohan Jha, Chief Airport Officer of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), wrote the letter to the civil aviation secretary. The letter says the foreign airlines had suggested the arrangement to Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), which runs CSMIA. Indian carriers IndiGo, the Air India Group and Akasa Air have already agreed to move some of their services to the new airport.

According to the letter, from the start of the IATA summer schedule on March 28, 2027, CSMIA will temporarily close slots for 14 international destinations. Airlines flying these routes can shift their flights to NMIA. The destinations are Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.

The letter says the arrangement will mean all flights on each route operate from a single airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), rather than being split between CSMIA and NMIA. It says about 91 per cent of CSMIA's current capacity will be unaffected. MIAL has to remove about 5 million passengers per annum (mppa) of traffic from CSMIA, of which Indian carriers' plans account for about 3 mppa.

The letter asked members of the Airline Operators Committee to say by November 3 which slots they can shift voluntarily. Failing that, MIAL has said it will shift all flights on these 14 destinations itself. In the letter's words, all flights from the MMR to these international destinations "will be available at ONE airport". It also says this will provide "seamless onward connections, minimal passenger inconvenience, and integrated travel experience". Suggestions that the change is "abrupt or unilateral" are called "unfounded" in the letter.

The Indian carriers had announced their plans earlier. On October 25, IndiGo said it would gradually move 12 daily international flights to NMIA, and that its international destinations there would reach 12 between February and July 2027. The same day, the Air India Group said Air India Express would start four daily domestic flights from NMIA in December 2026. A proposed Kuwait service, subject to regulatory approval, and existing Oman services are to shift from January 2027. Flights to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah are expected to move by the northern summer 2027 schedule. On October 27, Akasa Air said its Mumbai-Jeddah service would operate from NMIA from December 2026.

T1 opened in 1964 and has a design capacity of 15 mppa. According to the statement, structural audits by Structwel in 2017 and by IIT Bombay in 2024 raised concerns about the terminal's structure. The MIAL letter says its redevelopment has been stalled for more than nine years.

Demolition of the existing terminal is to begin in phases in April 2027. The new terminal will have a capacity of 20 mppa. Contact stands will rise from seven to 25, check-in counters from 74 to 109 and baggage belts from five to 11. Security lanes will increase from eight to 15, with five additional lanes for transfer passengers. The airlines' and AAHL's shared information gives 2030 as the completion time.

Construction of the north-west pier at Terminal 2 is to begin in January 2027 and is expected to be operational by March 2029. It will add four domestic bus boarding gates. CSMIA's total capacity is expected to rise from 55 mppa to 65 mppa. MIAL said the older slots given up during the changeover will be fully restored once the T2 work is complete.

NMIA's initial capacity is 20 mppa, of which 15 mppa is for domestic and 5 mppa for international traffic. Plans are to expand it to 90 mppa. Its international facilities include 55 check-in counters and 24 electronic gates. According to the statement, a readiness assessment shows the airport has the runway, airside and airspace capacity for additional services.

Under a revised variable tariff scheme approved in September, new international routes at NMIA will pay no landing fee in the first year and half the rack rate in the second year. Long-haul routes of more than 5,000 km will get the concession in the third year too. NMIA is also giving international passengers cash vouchers to offset the higher user development fee at CSMIA.