Key Points
- India’s civil aviation ministry asked Adani Airport Holdings to delay moving international flights from Mumbai’s Terminal 2 to Navi Mumbai, but asked airlines and the operator for a firm roadmap, with meetings set for October 13 and by October 20.
- Mumbai International Airport had proposed removing 265 of Terminal 2’s 770 weekly international departure slots from October 25 to absorb domestic airlines displaced by the Terminal 1 redevelopment, which affects about 5 million passengers.
- Adani is marketing Navi Mumbai’s readiness — capacity for 5 million international passengers, an 80-room transit hotel, expanded ground transport — and has proposed lower landing fees and covering the User Development Fee gap, pending ministry approval.
Summary
India’s civil aviation ministry has asked Adani Airport Holdings to pause its plan to shift a portion of international flights out of Mumbai’s Terminal 2 to Navi Mumbai International Airport, giving airlines and the operator a few more weeks to agree on a transition plan, sources told Skift. The pause follows a roughly 90-minute meeting in New Delhi that included the ministry, Adani Airport, the Airports Authority of India, the Federation of Indian Airlines, and Indian carriers, held the same day airlines faced a 4 p.m. deadline to tell Mumbai International Airport which flights they could give up. Mumbai International Airport had proposed cutting 265 of Terminal 2’s 770 weekly international departure slots from October 25 to make room for domestic airlines displaced by the redevelopment of Terminal 1, a project affecting about 5 million passengers that Adani says cannot be deferred further because of the terminal’s condition. Airlines said winter schedules are already set, with aircraft, crews, and sold tickets committed, and that splitting international operations between airports 35 to 40 kilometers apart would complicate connections and raise costs. The ministry has asked for a firm roadmap, with meetings set for October 13 and another expected by October 20. Adani, meanwhile, has stepped up messaging on Navi Mumbai’s readiness — 5 million international passengers a year of capacity, an 80-room transit hotel, expanded ground transport — and has proposed lower landing fees and covering the User Development Fee difference, a decision still pending with the ministry.