No Mumbai flights to move to Navi Mumbai airport, Fadnavis proposes phased Terminal 1 rebuild

The discussion on the future operations of the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports has taken a new turn. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has made it clear that there is no plan to shift any Mumbai airport flight to Navi Mumbai airport. The state government's position is that the two airports will continue to run separately, each according to its own capacity.

Fadnavis has written to the Union civil aviation minister on the matter. In the letter, he has also made a second proposal, to redevelop Terminal 1 of Mumbai airport in phases. The proposal comes in response to a plan to move some international flights from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Under the Chief Minister's proposal, Terminal 1B would first be built at Mumbai airport. Flights operating from Terminal 1A would then be shifted to the new Terminal 1B. Once Terminal 1A is completely vacated, it would be demolished and a new terminal built on the same site. This way, the airport can be redeveloped without shutting down its day-to-day operations entirely. Passengers' inconvenience can also be avoided, and airlines will not have to make major changes to their flight schedules.

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which runs Mumbai airport, had earlier proposed changing the international flight schedule to redevelop Terminal 1. Under it, arriving and departing flights connecting Mumbai with 14 international cities were to be moved to Navi Mumbai airport.

The cities were Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Medina, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah. The proposal was to implement the changes from the 2027 summer schedule.

Several airlines had opposed the MIAL proposal. Concerns were raised that moving flights from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai could cause passengers major difficulties. In particular, those taking connecting flights from Mumbai airport might have to travel between the two sites to change airports. This was feared to increase travel time and cost.

Fadnavis's second proposal has now brought the matter back into discussion. The Union civil aviation ministry is considering the proposal. Airlines and passengers alike are watching for the final decision. The Centre's final decision will be important on how Mumbai airport is to be expanded while the two airports are run separately.