Adani Airport, foreign airlines deadlocked over Mumbai airport shift

NEW DELHI: Foreign airlines and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd remain at an impasse over shifting international operations from Mumbai’s existing airport to Navi Mumbai, 50 km away, with carriers seeking until October 2027 to split flights between the two facilities even as the operator plans to begin cutting capacity at the existing airport in April next year.

A second meeting between foreign airline representatives and Adani Airport’s senior management ended without a resolution on Wednesday, two people present at the meeting told Mint.

Both Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Navi Mumbai International Airport are managed by Adani Airport Holdings, India’s second-largest airport operator by revenue after GMR Airports.

During Wednesday’s meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, foreign airlines sought time until the start of the winter schedule in October 2027 to transition some operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport, said one of the people cited above. The previous meeting was held on 13 October.

Adani Airport disagreed, saying capacity reduction at Mumbai airport would begin in April 2027 as redevelopment work gets underway. The operator shared a detailed project timeline with airlines, indicating that the replacement terminal would be ready by December 2030, said the second person, who present at the meeting.

“Adani Airport has sought a transition plan from airlines by 3 November,” the second person said, adding that foreign carriers had maintained they would need until October 2027 to transition their operations.

Adani Airport has assured airlines that their historical slots will be restored once Terminal 1 is fully operational in 2030.

A spokesperson for CSMIA said demolition of Terminal 1 was scheduled to begin in April 2027, with the redeveloped terminal targeted for completion by December 2030.

“An expansion of Terminal 2’s north-west pier, expected to be operational by March 2029, would handle interim domestic traffic,” the spokesperson said.

The plan envisages phased demolition of Terminal 1 from April 2027 to March 2028, followed by construction of its replacement from April 2028 to December 2030. The new terminal’s annual passenger-handling capacity is expected to increase to 20 million from 15 million currently, taking Mumbai airport’s overall capacity to 65 million passengers a year.

“Airlines are against slot reduction in the summer schedule,” the first person added. Airlines reiterated that the redevelopment should be undertaken in phases and that “discussions be initiated ahead of winter schedule 2027 to determine transition plans”.

The central disagreement is over timing: Adani wants to reduce capacity at Mumbai airport from April 2027, while foreign carriers want until October next year to shift some operations. The two sides have yet to agree on how the transition should be sequenced or how much capacity airlines will have to relinquish in the interim.

Earlier on Wednesday, during an earnings call by Adani Enterprises Ltd, the parent of Adani Airport Holdings, airport chief executive Arun Bansal said some airlines could have to temporarily suspend flights from Mumbai if they refused to move operations.

“The airlines will have to make a choice, certain airlines, not all. Either they move to Navi Mumbai or temporarily stop flying to Mumbai,” Bansal had said. He added that discussions with the remaining airlines were nearing completion and the operator expected a decision within a month.

Foreign carriers have raised concerns about Navi Mumbai’s readiness and the practicalities of operating from two airports. Emirates and Air France-KLM have questioned the availability of supporting infrastructure and demand at the new airport. Airlines have also sought detailed information on capacity, passenger demand and the redevelopment schedule before agreeing to shift flights.

The dispute follows Adani Airport’s proposal to temporarily discontinue 265 of 770 weekly international departure slots at Mumbai’s Terminal 2 from 25 October. Forty-six of the 47 airlines operating from Mumbai were affected. The civil aviation ministry intervened, giving the operator and airlines more time to reach an agreement.

While foreign carriers continue to seek more time, three Indian airlines have announced plans to move some operations to Navi Mumbai.

Akasa Air will shift its Mumbai-Jeddah flights from December. Air India Express will begin four daily domestic flights in December, followed by a phased shift of West Asian services from January 2027. IndiGo plans to move 12 daily international departures between February and July 2027.

IndiGo and Air India Group together plan to shift 133 weekly international departures from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai by July 2027.

Mumbai airport handled 55 million passengers in fiscal year 2026, comprising 38 million domestic and 17 million international passengers.

Navi Mumbai’s initial capacity is 20 million passengers annually, including 15 million domestic and five million international passengers. Adani Airport has also offered landing-charge incentives to airlines launching new routes or adding flights from Navi Mumbai.

Abhishek Law has spent 18 years in journalism, which in news industry terms means he has survived several newsroom restructurings, countless “urgent” press releases, and more cups of tea than he can reasonably count. Based in New Delhi, he covers aviation for Mint, a sector where aircraft, oil prices, geopolitics and airline CEOs regularly conspire to make his life interesting.<br><br>Most of his time gets occupied by translating airline jargon like ASKs, yields, load factors and fleet strategies into language that doesn’t require a pilot’s licence. His motto is simple: if readers need a glossary, he hasn’t done his job properly.<br><br>On most days, the quadragenarian is tracking airline strategies, policy changes and the occasional mid-air disruption that suddenly become a stock market story. When planes are behaving themselves (which is not very often nowadays), he strays into other corporate beats like steel, trying to figure out what’s really happening.<br><br>He loves to talk, especially ask—that one more question which people are uncomfortable with, and saving contacts in his phone as a "Source who may or may not pick up calls”. <br><br>But, on a serious note, the goal remains simple: cut through jargon, find that additional detail, and turn complicated business stories into something one can actually enjoy reading.

Get Latest real-time updates

Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

✕

Wait for it…

Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.