Mumbai airport has deferred moving a third of international departures to Navi Mumbai from 25 October to the summer 2027 schedule, protecting winter bookings while a forced two-airport split still looms.
Cover image: The interior of Terminal 2 at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport — photo by A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mumbai airport has deferred a plan to force airlines to give up a third of their international departure slots, or move them to Navi Mumbai, from 25 October. The partial shift will now wait until the summer schedule starting in March 2027, after talks between Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) and the Airline Operators' Committee on Tuesday 13 October. Winter tickets already sold are safe, but a forced split of Mumbai's international traffic across two airports is still coming.
The decision, reported by PTI via ET TravelWorld on 14 October, protects the winter season at one of India's busiest international gateways while leaving the hardest questions for a meeting on 20 October chaired by the Civil Aviation Secretary. For airlines, tour operators and anyone selling connections through Mumbai, the next two weeks decide how the summer split will work.
What was the original plan for Mumbai airport?
AAHL, which operates both Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the new Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), had told carriers to cut 33 percent of international flights from Terminal 2 or shift them to Navi Mumbai by 25 October, the start of the winter schedule. The aim was to free T2 slots so domestic traffic could move out of the ageing Terminal 1 before its renovation, according to PTI.
The scale was large: 265 of T2's 770 weekly international departure slots across 46 airlines, according to Swarajya. The same report says IndiGo faced the biggest cut at 74 weekly departures, with Air India losing 33. Airlines objected that winter schedules had been locked in since June and tickets were already on sale.
How was the deferral to March 2027 agreed?
The sequence matters for the trade because it shows where the decision now sits. On 6 October, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha chaired a 90-minute meeting in New Delhi with airlines, AAHL, the Federation of Indian Airlines, IATA and the Airports Authority of India, and proposed a delay plus a firm implementation plan. On 13 October, AAHL leaders Jeet Adani and Arun Bansal met the Airline Operators' Committee in Mumbai and agreed to hold the winter schedule untouched. Swarajya gives the new target as the summer timetable starting 28 March 2027.
A MIAL spokesperson told PTI: "Jeet Adani and Arun Bansal met with the AOC of Mumbai airport today. 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 has two weeks to plan the T1 redevelopment and traffic balancing, and airlines committed to support the works from the summer schedule. The arrangement rests on sourced briefings plus that spokesperson statement, since no formal Adani press release has surfaced.
What happens next for Mumbai and Navi Mumbai flights?
| Date | Milestone | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Oct 2026 | Ministry meeting chaired by the Civil Aviation Secretary | Held; delay proposed |
| 13 Oct 2026 | AAHL–airline meeting in Mumbai | Held; winter schedule protected |
| 20 Oct 2026 | Meeting chaired by the Civil Aviation Secretary | Final contours due |
| 28 Oct 2026 | AAHL–airline follow-up meeting | Pending issues to be settled |
| Jan 2027 | T1 north-section demolition was due to start; one source told PTI the whole T1 renovation plan is likely to slip to the summer schedule | Under review |
| 28 Mar 2027 | Summer schedule; phased transition begins | Target date |
The 20 October meeting is the one to watch: sources told PTI that the final shape of the transition will be decided there, with airlines asking AAHL for the complete T1 renovation plan. A follow-up between AAHL executives and airline representatives is set for 28 October.
Can Navi Mumbai airport handle the traffic?
AAHL says NMIA can handle up to 5 million international passengers a year. The airport opened in December 2025 and currently runs 95 to 110 flights a day to 46 destinations, overwhelmingly domestic, with Air India Express to Abu Dhabi as its only international route, according to Swarajya. It is designed for 20 million passengers a year in phase one and 90 million ultimately. The T1 works, meanwhile, are meant to lift that terminal from 15 million to 20 million passengers a year, and carriers have been told their historic slots will be restored once the work finishes.
For the trade, the practical effects land in three places: connections (a split international operation complicates minimum connecting times, the logic hub airports are built around), ground transfers for tour operators moving groups between the two airports, and fares if capacity discipline tightens. The episode also fits a wider reshaping of India's airport network, from Ahmedabad becoming India's third international transfer hub to the 100-airport UDAN programme, and follows operational pressure at Delhi, where the third runway only just reopened.
Frequently asked questions
Will Mumbai international flights move to Navi Mumbai this winter?
No. The partial shift of 33 percent of international departures, originally set for 25 October 2026, is deferred to the summer schedule starting in March 2027. Airlines have a commitment that no winter-schedule slots will be disturbed.
Which airlines are most affected by the Mumbai slot shift?
46 airlines were told to cut or move 265 of T2's 770 weekly international departure slots. Swarajya reports IndiGo faced the largest reduction at 74 weekly departures and Air India 33, though those carrier-level figures come from a single report.
When will the final Mumbai airport transition plan be decided?
A meeting chaired by the Civil Aviation Secretary on 20 October is expected to settle the final contours, with an AAHL-airline follow-up on 28 October. A joint working group has two weeks to draw up the T1 redevelopment and traffic-balancing plan.
Can Navi Mumbai airport take international flights now?
AAHL says it can handle up to 5 million international passengers a year. The airport opened in December 2025 and now runs 95 to 110 daily flights to 46 destinations, but its only international route so far is Air India Express to Abu Dhabi, according to Swarajya.
Sources
- ET TravelWorld (PTI) — Mumbai airport defers international flight shift to Navi Mumbai till March 2027
- Swarajya — Airlines win reprieve as Mumbai to Navi Mumbai transfer postponed to March 2027
- Business Today — Govt asks Adani Airports to delay shifting international flights from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai
- Aviation A2Z — Mumbai airport international flights shift to Navi Mumbai delayed by govt
