Stories
Mumbai Airport, Airlines Clash Over Navi Mumbai Shift Amid T1 Demolition
- •Mumbai airport's Terminal 1 (T1) redevelopment is on schedule, but airlines have not committed to shifting international operations from T2 to Navi Mumbai International Airport.
- •Adani Airports CEO Arun Bansal stated that T1 demolition will proceed as planned, but airlines cannot be forced to move operations to Navi Mumbai.
- •The plan involved shifting 30% of international flights from Mumbai's T2 to Navi Mumbai from October, ahead of T1's phased closure.
- •Airlines are reluctant to move due to concerns over passenger demand and last-mile connectivity at Navi Mumbai.
- •Phased shutdown of T1 begins in January 2027, with one-third of its capacity going offline, requiring accommodation for 5 million annual travelers elsewhere.
Key Questions Answered
Airlines are hesitant to relocate their operations to Navi Mumbai due to concerns regarding passenger demand and inadequate last-mile connectivity. Additionally, Air India and other carriers have highlighted operational inefficiencies from split operations, as well as higher landing charges and passenger costs at the new facility.
Mumbai Airport intends to begin the phased shutdown of Terminal 1 starting from January 2027, with the first one-third of the terminal's capacity going offline. According to Adani Airports CEO Arun Bansal, this demolition process cannot be delayed and must proceed as required by the AERA order.
Terminal 1 currently handles passenger traffic equivalent to approximately 5 million travellers annually, which will need to be accommodated elsewhere as the redevelopment and phased shutdown progress. MIAL plans to shift domestic traffic to Terminal 2, while portions of international operations were intended to be redirected to Navi Mumbai.
