IndiGo, Air India Group to shift 133 weekly flights to Navi Mumbai Airport

Mumbai: IndiGo and Air India Group will shift 133 weekly international departures from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport, with most of the flights serving destinations in West Asia, including Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Doha, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move will shift nearly three million passengers a year to the new airport, accounting for about 60% of the annual capacity reduction of five million passengers planned at Mumbai airport for the redevelopment of Terminal 1, the people said. Capacity equivalent to about two million passengers a year remains to be addressed.

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In statements on Sunday, IndiGo and Air India Group outlined plans to progressively move international services to the Navi Mumbai airport over the coming months. This will allow the airlines to maintain services while the redevelopment at Mumbai airport requires a reduction in operating capacity.

IndiGo will progressively transfer 12 daily international departures to the new airport, covering existing services to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta. It also plans to introduce a daily service to Kathmandu, taking its international network at Navi Mumbai airport to 12 destinations between February and July 2027.

In a joint announcement, IndiGo and Adani Airports said they were in the "final stages of operationalising" the plan. IndiGo will also transfer the domestic connectivity required to support its international operations from Navi Mumbai airport. Final dates remain subject to project coordination and operating approvals.

Air India Group will shift seven daily departures, according to people familiar with the matter. Air India Express will begin operating four daily domestic flights from Navi Mumbai in December. It plans to introduce services to Kuwait, subject to approvals, and operate existing services to Oman from January 2027.

The airline will progressively transfer services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah, with the transition expected to be completed by the International Air Transport Association Northern Summer 2027 season, covering the March 28-October 30 period.

The shift comes as the Mumbai airport prepares to redevelop Terminal 1, which currently has capacity for about 15 million passengers annually. The rebuilt terminal is planned to handle 20 million passengers a year, with reopening targeted for March 2030. The airport operator has said airlines' historic slots will be restored after the terminal reopens. However, international airlines including Emirates and Air France-KLM have expressed reservations about moving capacity to the new airport, which is about 50 km away from the existing airport.

Also Read: Mumbai Airport defers shift of international flights to Navi Mumbai by 5 months

Discussions with other airlines are continuing, with a meeting scheduled for October 28 and further talks expected next month ahead of the November 4 deadline for filing summer-schedule slots. Akasa Air could also reach a decision on moving some operations to the Navi Mumbai airport soon, according to people in the know.

The Airline Operators Committee Mumbai previously said that airlines had not agreed to a unilateral transfer of international operations or reductions in existing Mumbai airport slots, and had sought details on airport capacity during the redevelopment.