Mumbai Airport International Flight: Govt Asks Adani Airports, Airlines To Work on Transition Plan

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry on Tuesday suggested Adani Airports to delay the proposed partial shifting of international flights from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai airport, and discussions will be held to chart out the transition plan, according to sources.

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) has asked airlines to cut 33 per cent of their international flights to Navi Mumbai airports or discontinue them by October 25, a proposal that has been opposed by the carriers.

AAHL, which operates both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports, is set to start renovation of the Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1, due to which it has proposed partial shifting of the flight operations.

To discuss the issues, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha chaired a meeting with representatives of airlines, AAHL, Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), global airlines’ grouping IATA and Airports Authority of India (AAI), among others, in the national capital on Tuesday.

The sources said the secretary has proposed delaying the transition by a few weeks and has also asked for a firm plan from airlines as well as the airport operator for shifting operations to the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Airlines and AAHL will hold discussions on October 13 on the transition plan, and another meeting will be convened on October 20 to decide on the final contours.

At the meeting, AAHL executives outlined its preparedness for handling up to 5 million international passengers annually at the newly commissioned NMIA. They also mentioned about the airport’s readiness, supported by key infrastructure and passenger amenities, including robust airport connectivity, in-flight catering facilities, hotels, lounges, and other supporting services, as per the sources.

During the meeting, which went on for nearly 90 minutes, AAHL engaged with airlines’ representatives and sought to address their operational concerns as well as responded to queries related to the proposed transition and redevelopment plan.

The discussions were constructive, with all stakeholders reaffirming their commitment to ensuring a smooth and coordinated transition while maintaining passenger convenience and operational efficiency, the sources said.

Meanwhile, airlines’ sources said the ministry has asked the airport operator to re-engage with all concerned stakeholders and airlines on the transition plan for a solution.

According to them, the ministry has also said that the final solution developed with stakeholders needs to be submitted as part of the airport operator’s request for the ministry’s approval of the Major Development Plan (MDP) for the T1 redevelopment.

MDP approval is one of the requirements under the airport concession agreement for the Mumbai airport, they said.

On October 3, AAHL said 91 per cent of Mumbai airport’s passenger traffic will remain unaffected due to the demolition of the north section of T1 for the redevelopment of the six-decade-old terminal and subsequent relocation of partial operations to T2 and Navi Mumbai International Airport.

T1 redevelopment will begin in January 2027, which will increase its capacity by 33 per cent – up to 20 mppa (million passengers per annum) from the current 15 mppa, AAHL had said in a statement.

Mumbai International Airport, one of the busiest in the country, has two terminals — T1 and T2. While T1 is used for domestic operations, international flights operate from T2.

Earlier this month, Mumbai airport operator MIAL communicated to the 46 airlines to effect a 33 per cent cut in international departure slots at the airport with effect from 11.59 pm on October 25.

At present, a total of 46 airlines operate 770 weekly international flights from T2 and from October 25, which is also the start of the winter schedule, MIAL has asked carriers to temporarily discontinue 265 weekly overseas services, sources had said on October 2.

The vacated international departure slots at T2 will be used to facilitate the transition of domestic traffic from T1.

(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by HDFC Sky editorial team and is auto-generated from PTI feed.)