Mumbai Airport T1 operations may shift from October 25

Mumbai: Airlines operating from Terminal 1 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport may shift their operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) or temporarily suspend services from October 25, as Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) prepares to begin the terminal’s demolition and reconstruction in January 2027.

MIAL said the redevelopment is being undertaken in line with the tariff order of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA). Demolition was originally scheduled for mid-2025 but was deferred as airlines had no alternative operating facility.

With Navi Mumbai International Airport now operational, MIAL said carriers have an alternative within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Airlines have been informed that Terminal 1 redevelopment will begin in January 2027 and may therefore relocate operations to Navi Mumbai or suspend services temporarily from October 25 until the rebuilt terminal is commissioned in 2029-30.

An MIAL spokesperson said the airport operator would honour airlines’ historic slot rights once the new Terminal 1 becomes operational.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has written to the Civil Aviation Ministry, saying any transfer of operations must be viable for airlines. It has opposed forced relocation and called for carriers to be allowed to choose their operating airport under a collaborative framework for Mumbai’s dual-airport system.

The development comes amid earlier uncertainty over a social media message claiming that a third of Mumbai airport traffic would shift to Navi Mumbai from October 1. MIAL had said the message was not issued by it.

Mumbai airport currently handles more than 950 flight movements daily and has capacity for over 50 million passengers. Terminal 1, nearly 80 years old, has a capacity of around 15 million passengers, while Terminal 2 can handle about 40 million.