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

The planned shift of international operations from the airport in Mumbai to Navi Mumbai has been deferred to the summer schedule, pushing the transition back by five months, people familiar with the matter said. This followed protests against the directive to move flights to the new facility during the winter schedule. The move gives carriers and passengers a reprieve during the peak festive travel season.

Mumbai airport is located in the northern suburbs of the metro, while the Navi Mumbai airport is situated about 34 km away by road.

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The plan affects 46 airlines and is linked to the redevelopment of Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1. Almost all the carriers attended a meeting with Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) on Tuesday.

The representatives from the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) and other stakeholders were also present. Jeet Adani, director of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), also held separate meetings with airlines to discuss carrier-specific concerns over the proposed capacity transition, the people said. AAHL operates the two Mumbai airports.

“Jeet Adani and (AAHL CEO) Arun Bansal met with the AOC of Mumbai Airport today,” an MIAL spokesperson said. “They have assured the airline community of minimisation of disruption and have assured them of fully respecting historical slots allocations. They have further given a commitment not to disturb any slots for the winter schedule.”

A joint working group will devise a plan to implement the redevelopment of ageing Terminal 1 over the next two weeks. Airlines will back this programme from the summer schedule.