Adani finds a way around airline resistance: IndiGo, Air India to begin shift to Navi Mumbai

Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) has reworked its plan to shift 33% of international flight operations from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). The company has scaled down its initial relocation target and is beginning the transition with Indian carriers, even as foreign airlines continue to oppose the move.

On Sunday, IndiGo and Air India, the country's two largest airline operators, announced plans to shift international services to NMIA in phases, primarily covering West Asia routes. The transition will begin in early 2027.

Under the revised plan, flights accounting for around 3 million passengers will move to NMIA in the first phase, compared with the original target of 5 million passengers. The remaining traffic is expected to shift subsequently.

The move will free up capacity at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) for the phased redevelopment of Terminal 1.

Read More: 'The airport is not ready': Emirates flags infrastructure gaps at Navi Mumbai airport

The development comes ahead of the October 28 stakeholders meeting between Adani and the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) after they pushed back the move to shift 265 of 770 (33%) weekly international departure slots currently available at T2 of Mumbai Airport.

The move by the domestic carriers is likely to put pressure on international carriers, who have opposed the shifting of flights to NMIA.

Under the earlier proposal, IndiGo faced the largest reduction of 74 weekly slots, followed by Air India with 33, Akasa Air with 11 and Air India Express with seven. International carriers, including Etihad Airways and Emirates, faced reductions of 10 weekly slots each.

Earlier, the operations were to shift from October 25 onwards, but resistance by airlines has now pushed it to the summer schedule starting March 2027.

Airlines have objected to what they described as a non-consultative decision by Adani Airports, arguing that the move would disrupt their winter schedules, for which slots had already been confirmed and bookings may have been made.

AAHL has said the redevelopment of Terminal 1 will begin in January 2027, increasing its annual passenger handling capacity by 33% to 20 million passengers per annum (MPPA), from the current 15 million.

In Case You Missed It: Why are airlines opposing operations from Adani’s Navi Mumbai Airport?

Sectors to get impacted?

As part of its expansion at NMIA, IndiGo will progressively transfer 12 daily international departures from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to NMIA, representing all the present operations from CSMIA to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta.

An additional daily service to Kathmandu will also be introduced, taking IndiGo’s international network at NMIA to 12 destinations between February and July 2027.

IndiGo will also transition the required domestic connectivity from CSMIA to NMIA to support these international services from CSMIA to NMIA, ensuring seamless onward connections for customers.

“Firstly, it will create room for IndiGo’s continued international expansion in 2027, enabling the launch of new services across Asia, Africa and Europe using its expanding fleet of A320/321 and A321XLR during 2027, without placing further pressure on a capacity-constrained airport. Second, the associated transition of domestic operations will also support IndiGo’s share of the capacity reductions required to enable the redevelopment of CSMIA T1 by 2030,” said a joint statement by the two companies.

IndiGo and AAHL will continue to work together to ensure that any further adjustments required to IndiGo’s services at CSMIA T1, to enable the redevelopment, will be accommodated in CSMIA T2, the statement added,

Air India Group will also commence the phased transition of some of its West Asia services to NMIA, with Air India Express operating four daily domestic flights from December 2026 and planned services to Kuwait1 and existing services to Oman from January 2027.

Air India Group will progressively transition Air India Express services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat, and Sharjah to NMIA, with the process expected to be completed by the IATA Northern Summer 2027 season.

IndiGo and Air India have agreed to move more flight operations to NMIA than planned initially.

International players object

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) wrote to the Civil Aviation Ministry, opposing “forced” relocation of operations to Navi Mumbai Airport. It raised concerns about the airport’s readiness in ground handling, aircraft maintenance approvals, catering, cargo facilities, crew accommodation, and connectivity.

International logistics carrier Challenge Group has announced a temporary suspension of its Mumbai operations, citing the inability of the present NMIA operating setup to provide the reliability and certainty required for its cargo operations.

Opposing the move, Air France-KLM said splitting its long-haul operations between the two airports will impact its operations. Even Emirates has flagged concerns regarding shifting operations to NMIA.