MIAL ordered select Gulf carriers to shift flights to Navi Mumbai starting in March 2027. The operator said, "Consequently, the Mumbai airport is unable to accommodate requested Summer 2027 slots of your esteemed airline." Airlines that refuse must stop flights until Terminal 1 is ready for use in 2029.
If they do not want to shift, these airlines will have to discontinue their flights and return when the reconstructed Terminal 1 is ready in 2029.
Both airports -- Mumbai and Navi Mumbai -- are controlled by Adani Group entities. MIAL, in a letter dated October 30, made it clear to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) that it had planned to shift all flights from Mumbai to 14 international destinations to Navi Mumbai from the summer season next year, which will start at the end of March 2027.
These 14 destinations are Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.
According to Cirium's November 2026 schedule, 16 airlines operate 205 weekly flights from Mumbai to these destinations. IndiGo, Air India Group and Akasa Air have announced plans to shift some of their services to Navi Mumbai. The remaining 12 airlines operate 102 weekly departures on these routes and have not publicly announced plans to shift their Mumbai services.
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These 12 airlines are Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Qatar Airways, Riyadh Air, Jazeera Airways, SalamAir, Flyadeal, Flynas and Nepal Airlines. However, it is not known which of these airlines received Thursday's communication.
According to sources, select Gulf carriers have received the communication. In an email to the affected airlines, MIAL's slot coordination team said Mumbai airport's capacity would be reduced by five million passengers per annum (MPPA) from the summer season next year. It said the airport would therefore be unable to accommodate their requested flights for the season.
"Consequently, the Mumbai airport is unable to accommodate requested Summer 2027 slots of your esteemed airline, necessitating a temporary transition out of Mumbai effective beginning of Northern Summer 2027 and subsequent seasons," the email said.
The operator asked the affected carriers to move their services from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai airport. MIAL said the change would be temporary and that the airlines' existing flight timings at Mumbai airport would be restored once the expansion of the terminal was completed and additional capacity became available.
The communication marks an escalation in the dispute over MIAL's plan to shift flights to Navi Mumbai while rebuilding Terminal 1. Earlier, the airport operator had asked airlines to voluntarily identify services that could be moved to NMIA to help reduce passenger traffic at Mumbai airport by five MPPA. Foreign airlines have been opposing this move, asking for more time and better coordination.
In a letter to the MoCA dated October 30, MIAL had said it could shift all flights between Mumbai and the 14 international destinations to Navi Mumbai if airlines did not submit proposals for voluntary transfers by November 3. It said consolidating these services at one airport would avoid splitting flights between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Mumbai airport currently has an annual passenger-handling capacity of around 55 million. MIAL has said the temporary reduction of five MPPA would leave about 91 per cent of this capacity unaffected.
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