Adani's Mumbai airport holds off on winter flight cuts after airline pushback

NEW DELHI: Adani's Mumbai airport will not alter any airline slots during the winter schedule, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, holding off on international flight cuts planned in the coming weeks after pushback from carriers.

The airport and airlines have been at odds over plans to temporarily cut international flights to make way for the partial demolition of an ageing terminal, Reuters earlier reported.

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Adani Airports' Director Jeet Adani and CEO Arun Bansal had met with the Airline Operators Committee of Mumbai, the spokesperson said, and assured airlines that historic slot allocations would be fully respected.

The spokesperson cited commitments from airlines to support the rebalancing of traffic starting from the summer schedule. The AOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A joint working group will draw up an implementation plan over the next two weeks, and the two sides will meet again on October 28.

Mumbai International Airport had proposed a 33% cut in international departure slots to make room at Terminal 2 for about 5 million passengers moving from Terminal 1, emails reviewed by Reuters showed.

The AOC said in an October 2 letter that the proposal was "not accepted".