Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has proposed a phased redevelopment plan for Terminal 1 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, under which a replacement facility would be built before the existing terminal is demolished to avoid flight disruptions.
In a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, Fadnavis recommended that Terminal 1B be developed first and made operational before flights are shifted from Terminal 1A. The existing Terminal 1A would then be demolished and reconstructed, allowing redevelopment to proceed while airport operations continue.
A senior official in the Chief Minister’s Office told PTI that the proposal was based on simultaneous development and was intended to prevent the transfer or cancellation of flights during construction. The plan would replace the sequence in which the existing facility is dismantled before its replacement is ready.
Terminal 1, commissioned in 1964, is being redeveloped after structural and safety concerns were identified in audits conducted by Structwel in 2017 and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2024. The assessments pointed to the need to replace the ageing terminal with infrastructure that can meet current operational requirements and rising passenger demand.
The redeveloped terminal is expected to increase passenger-handling capacity from 15 million passengers per annum to 20 million passengers per annum, representing an increase of about 33 per cent. The upgraded facility is also expected to include improvements to passenger processing, security screening and other airport infrastructure. It is targeted to become operational by March 2029.
The proposed construction sequence comes as Mumbai airport’s wider flight-transition plan faces operational concerns. Mumbai International Airport Ltd had initially planned to partially shift international flight operations from October 25, 2026. That deadline was later deferred to March 2027 after several foreign airlines raised concerns about the proposed transition.
Representatives of more than 35 airlines and Mumbai airport officials also held discussions on shifting some international services from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport. Mumbai International Airport Ltd presented detailed schedules for the Terminal 1 redevelopment during those discussions, according to sources cited in the report.
The Chief Minister’s proposal seeks to reduce the number of passengers and airlines that would need to be moved during the redevelopment. If accepted, the phased approach would allow the current terminal to remain in service until the replacement facility is ready, while also reducing the operational burden on Navi Mumbai International Airport during the construction period. The proposal will require consideration by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and coordination among the airport operator, airlines and aviation authorities.
