MIAL seeks to shift 14 international flights to Navi Mumbai Airport by Nov 3

Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has proposed shifting flights to 14 international destinations from the existing airport in Mumbai to the new Navi Mumbai International Airport. The Adani-operated airport has asked the civil aviation ministry to facilitate the move if airlines don’t voluntarily offer slots, as part of plans to redevelop its Terminal 1.

In a letter by Vishnu Mohan Jha, chief airport officer, MIAL, a copy of which was seen by ET, MIAL sought voluntary slot surrender from airlines by November 3, proposing to temporarily move services to Navi Mumbai to free up capacity for the demolition and reconstruction of Terminal 1. The operator said it aims to shift around five million passengers annually, equivalent to about 9% of the existing airport’s traffic capacity.

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“This will ensure that all flights from the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) to these international destinations are available at one airport instead of being split at two airports in the same region,” it said.

The proposal could affect international passengers travelling between Mumbai and several destinations in the Gulf and other parts of Asia, potentially requiring them to use Navi Mumbai instead of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The move also raises questions over the protection of airlines’ historical slots and the regulatory process governing the relocation of foreign carriers between two separate airports.

MIAL said if airlines don’t submit transition proposals, it planned to temporarily move all flights serving the 14 destinations identified in the transition plans submitted by Indian carriers. These comprise Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.