Centre Pauses Mumbai-Navi Mumbai Flight Shift
The planned transfer of a large number of international flights from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport has been put on hold after airlines raised concerns over the proposed transition.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the airport operator to defer the existing plan and work with airlines on a fresh transition roadmap.
The decision means the proposed October 25 deadline for withdrawing 265 weekly international departure slots from Mumbai will not go ahead as originally planned.
Why Were Flights Being Shifted?
The proposed reshuffle is linked to the redevelopment of Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 1, which is scheduled to undergo phased redevelopment from January 2027.
Terminal 1 currently handles domestic flights. Once portions of the terminal are taken out of service, around 5 million passengers a year will need to be accommodated elsewhere.
The airport operator had planned to create additional capacity at Terminal 2 by temporarily reducing international operations.
The obvious alternative was the newly operational Navi Mumbai International Airport.
265 Weekly International Flights Were On The List
Mumbai Airport currently handles around 770 international departures every week.
Under the original plan, 265 of those weekly departures were to be temporarily discontinued at Mumbai and shifted to Navi Mumbai or otherwise reworked from October 25.
The proposed changes would have affected 46 airlines.
IndiGo was facing the largest reduction, with 74 of its 224 weekly international departures affected. Air India had 33 departures on the list, while Akasa Air had 11.
Among international carriers, Emirates and Etihad were each facing a reduction of 10 weekly departures.
Airlines Objected To The Short Timeline
Airlines have not opposed the redevelopment of Terminal 1 itself. Their concerns are primarily about how the transition was being implemented.
Moving an international operation between airports requires changes to aircraft schedules, crew deployment, ground handling, catering, maintenance, cargo arrangements and regulatory approvals.
Airlines also argued that their winter schedules had already been planned and sold, making a major operational shift within weeks difficult.
The International Air Transport Association had earlier described the proposed relocation as a forced move and raised concerns about consultation and infrastructure readiness.
Higher Costs Are Another Problem
Airlines have also raised concerns about the financial implications of shifting operations to Navi Mumbai.
The new airport has a higher User Development Fee for international departing passengers than Mumbai Airport. The airport operator has proposed measures including cash vouchers to offset the difference for affected passengers.
A waiver of landing charges for new international flights has also been proposed.
However, airlines have said that pricing incentives alone do not address their broader operational concerns.
Fresh Meetings Planned
Following the pushback, the government has asked the airport operator and airlines to work on a mutually agreed transition plan.
A stakeholder meeting is scheduled for October 13, with another meeting expected around October 20.
The revised plan will have to consider airline operations, passenger convenience, airport capacity and the redevelopment requirements at Mumbai Airport.
Mumbai Airport’s Bigger Redevelopment Plan
The long-term objective remains unchanged. The redevelopment of Terminal 1 is expected to increase its annual passenger-handling capacity from around 15 million to 20 million.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to play an increasingly important role in handling Mumbai Metropolitan Region air traffic.
The latest decision, however, shows that moving passengers and airlines between two major airports cannot happen overnight.
Summary
The Centre has put on hold the proposed shift of 265 weekly international flights from Mumbai Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport after airlines raised operational, financial and passenger-connectivity concerns. The move was linked to the redevelopment of Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 1. Fresh consultations are now planned, with meetings scheduled in October to develop a mutually agreed transition plan.
