Fadnavis proposes phased redevelopment of Mumbai airport Terminal 1
The Maharashtra Chief Minister has suggested an alternative plan to avoid flight disruptions and opposed shifting international flights to Navi Mumbai.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has proposed a phased redevelopment of Terminal 1 (T1) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to prevent flight service disruptions. According to reports from The Hindu, Fadnavis suggested that the existing facility remain operational until its replacement is ready.
In a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, the Chief Minister proposed that Terminal 1B be developed first. Once completed, operations from Terminal 1A would shift to 1B, allowing the old 1A terminal to be demolished and reconstructed. A senior official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated that the goal is to have simultaneous development so there is no need to transfer or cancel flights.
Fadnavis also opposed the proposal to shift international flights from Mumbai to the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). He stated that no flights would be moved out of CSMIA and that both airports would continue to operate according to their respective capacities.
The redevelopment of T1, which was commissioned in 1964, aims to address structural and safety concerns flagged in audits by Structwel in 2017 and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2024. The new terminal is expected to increase passenger-handling capacity from 15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to 20 MPPA.
The airport operator, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), had previously planned to shift international operations to NMIA. While some airlines like Air India Express and IndiGo have announced phased shifts to NMIA, other airlines have raised concerns regarding the transition plan.