Airlines operating at Mumbai airport have approached the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) requesting clarification on the proposal by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which is controlled by the Adani group, to transfer several international flights to Navi Mumbai. Concerns have been raised regarding the loss of historical slots and reduced capacity.
On Thursday, MIAL sent a notification to several Middle Eastern airlines stating that their current flights would not be serviced at Mumbai airport starting from next year's summer season. This was due to the necessity of demolition and reconstruction work on Terminal 1 for safety reasons.
MIAL determined that all flights from Mumbai to 14 international destinations—Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madina, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, and Riyadh, as well as Sharjah—must be relocated to Navi Mumbai by the end of March 2027.
According to Cirium's schedule for November 2026, 16 airlines operate 205 weekly flights from Mumbai to these 14 destinations. Among them, IndiGo, Air India group, and Akasa Air have already announced plans to move part of their services to Navi Mumbai. The remaining 12 airlines operate 102 weekly flights and have not yet made a public statement about route changes.
These twelve airlines include Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Qatar Airways, Riyadh Air, Jazeera Airways, SalamAir, Flyadeal, Flynas, and Nepal Airlines. The letter from the Mumbai Airline Operators Committee (AOC) does not specify which airlines received the latest notice from MIAL; it only states that an email was sent to several Middle Eastern carriers.
In the letter to MoCA, submitted on Friday, the AOC reported that MIAL's slot coordination team informed the affected Middle Eastern carriers that the slots they requested (specific time intervals for arrival and departure) in Mumbai would not be available from the following summer. The operator informed the airlines that they would have to temporarily suspend operations in Mumbai until the expansion is completed.
In its address to the ministry, the AOC referenced MIAL's letter to the ministry dated October 30, in which the operator sought the ministry's approval to transfer these flights from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. 'We understand that the Chief Airport Director of MIAL (CAO) requested MoCA's approval via a letter dated October 30, 2026, regarding the temporary transition from Mumbai airport concerning the historical slots of some international airlines. However, the Slot Coordination Team (MIAL) subsequently rejected the historical slots of several international Middle Eastern carriers, apparently without further consultation or discussion with the affected airlines,' the document states.
The AOC asked the ministry to clarify whether it had approved MIAL's proposal from October 30. Furthermore, it requested MoCA's advice to recommend that MIAL reconsider its decision and restore the historical slots for the affected airlines for the summer schedule. Historical slots are flight time intervals that airlines regularly used at the airport and have the right to retain according to current regulations.
The AOC emphasized that any decision affecting these slots must comply with MoCA guidelines and the World Association of Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) Global Guidelines, which establish rules for the allocation and retention of flight time intervals at the airport. 'Airport development plans should not inherently lead to the withdrawal, refusal, or reallocation of historical slots. Any capacity adjustments must be strictly within the established legal framework, ensuring transparency, fairness, and non-discrimination towards all airlines,' stated the AOC.
The committee also questioned the basis for MIAL's proposal, as the operator stated the need to reduce Mumbai airport's passenger throughput by five million passengers per annum (MPPA) for the redevelopment of Terminal 1. Currently, the airport handles about 55 MPPA. The AOC noted that the actual operational capacity of Terminal 1, according to information held by airline members, was around 10 MPPA or less, and added that MIAL had not provided an adequate explanation for the capacity assessment underlying the proposed reduction.
The AOC expressed support for the redevelopment of Terminal 1 and the development of airport infrastructure. Nevertheless, it warned that removing international airlines from Mumbai could negatively impact their network planning, connecting flights, interline and codeshare agreements, as well as operational efficiency. These agreements allow airlines to connect or sell flights operated by other carriers.
