Maharashtra opposes moving 14 international routes from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai

The Maharashtra government has opposed a proposal to shift flights on 14 international routes from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai airport. The aim of the proposal was to reduce the load of international flights at Mumbai airport.

The plan was to move these flights to Navi Mumbai from the Summer Schedule 2027. The state government has asked the Union civil aviation ministry to carry out the demolition and redevelopment of Terminal 1 at Mumbai airport in phases, so that passengers are spared inconvenience.

Since Terminal 1 will be demolished, domestic passengers who fly from there will have to be accommodated in Terminal 2. The plan is to give some space in Terminal 2 to domestic flights. As a result, the proposal had come to cut international flights at Terminal 2 and move some of them to Navi Mumbai airport.

The state government has instead suggested redeveloping Terminal 1 in phases. According to it, Terminal 1B should be built first. Once it is ready, flights from Terminal 1A should be shifted there. Only after that should the existing Terminal 1A building be demolished. This would allow domestic flights to continue from Terminal 1 even while redevelopment is under way. It would also ease the additional pressure on Terminal 2 and reduce the need to move international flights to Navi Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the company that runs Mumbai airport told airlines last month that international flights at Terminal 2 would be cut by about one-third under the Summer Schedule 2027. The new schedule will come into effect at the end of March. In the first phase of demolishing Terminal 1, extra space will have to be provided in Terminal 2 for about 5 million domestic passengers a year. The airlines were also told that it would therefore not be possible to approve all the slots they have sought.

The proposal to move flights on 14 international routes to Navi Mumbai airport was then placed before the Union civil aviation ministry. The routes cover Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.

Airlines have also opposed the proposal. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asked the civil aviation ministry to redevelop Terminal 1 in phases rather than demolish it entirely. The organisation has suggested that part of one side can be kept operational for passengers while construction goes on at the other.

Terminal 1 at Mumbai airport currently handles about 15 million passengers a year. Under the set schedule, the entire terminal will be demolished by March 2028. Construction will then begin afresh, and the new terminal is expected to be ready by December 2030.

Under the state government's proposal, if Terminal 1B is commissioned first, domestic flights can continue even while Terminal 1A is demolished. The government is therefore stressing that facilities at Mumbai airport itself be developed in phases, rather than moving international flights to Navi Mumbai.