Why the Mumbai airport fiasco may not be an easy fix
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A fiasco is unfolding at India’s second-largest airport, and it may not be an easy fix.
On one side, domestic and international airlines are in discussions with the airport operator, Adani Group, about a proposal to move flight operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport as Mumbai Airport's Terminal 1 undergoes renovation. Meanwhile, some have decided to halt operations temporarily and are calling the move forced.
The airport has asked airlines to cut operations by 33 percent from Terminal 2, the international airport. Currently, about 46 airlines operate 770 weekly international flights from T2, and the operator is seeking a 33 percent reduction, or a shift to Navi Mumbai Airport, to accommodate more flights at Terminal 2, located in the heart of Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is located in Navi Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai, making the commute difficult, especially considering infrastructure shortcomings. MIAL wants to move or temporarily suspend as many as 260 international departures to accommodate domestic operations being shifted from Terminal 1.
“At the moment, discussions are on with the operator,” a spokesperson for one of the country’s airlines told Fortune India.
But the shift has already drawn flak from the International Air Transport Association, an airline trade association seeking the Indian government’s intervention to ensure no airline is forced to shift. “With Navi Mumbai International Airport [NMIAL] now operational, airlines have an alternative option within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region,” Mumbai Airport said. “The redevelopment will start in January 2027. Airlines may shift operations to NMIAL or temporarily suspend them from October 25 until the new Terminal 1 is commissioned in 2029-30. Mumbai International Airport Limited [MIAL] will honour airlines’ historic slot rights once the new terminal becomes operational.”
IndiGo has 224 international departures, so about 74 will be affected, while Air India will have 33 departures affected. Akasa Air will see 11 of its 32 departures affected, while Etihad Airways and Emirates will each have to relocate 10 of their 28 departures.
The airport has also asked airlines to inform it in writing by 4 pm on October 6 about the specific slots (or flights) that they plan to 'temporarily discontinue' at Mumbai airport.
But not everybody is happy with that. Air France has already said that it's not an option for the airline to move to Navi Mumbai. Israel-based Challenge Group has said that it is suspending operations to Mumbai. “We have made the decision to temporarily suspend our Mumbai operations until further notice,” the company said in a statement. “Following Challenge Group’s mandatory transition from Mumbai International Airport (BOM) to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI), and an assessment of the current operating conditions at NMI, we have determined that the present operational setup does not yet enable us to deliver our cargo services with the level of reliability and certainty we require.”
The cargo operator said that it is doing so to protect its customers, their cargo and the reliability of their supply chain. “Our teams are actively evaluating alternative options to maintain strong connectivity between India and our international network, and we expect to communicate details of a new service to the market shortly.”