Airlines propose shifting 14 international destinations to Navi Mumbai airport
Foreign and Indian carriers may move select flights to NMIA to facilitate the redevelopment of Terminal 1 at CSMIA.
Foreign airlines and Indian carriers including Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air have proposed moving select international flights to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) during the redevelopment of Terminal 1 (T1) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), according to reports by ANI and The News Mill.
The proposal aims to consolidate flights for 14 specific destinations at a single airport within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to avoid splitting services between CSMIA and NMIA. These destinations include Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.
The shift is intended to support the redevelopment of T1, which was commissioned in 1964. Structural audits by Structwel in 2017 and IIT Bombay in 2024 raised concerns regarding the terminal's infrastructure. The first stage of T1 demolition is set to start in April 2027.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has informed Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Sinha of the plan. The Times of India reported that MIAL requested airlines to identify which slots they would vacate by November 3 for the summer schedule starting March 28, 2027.
The transition is expected to leave approximately 91 per cent of current traffic capacity at CSMIA unaffected. Following the work, T1's capacity is planned to rise from 15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to 20 MPPA, while CSMIA's total capacity is projected to increase from 55 MPPA to 65 MPPA.