Mumbai airport will not reduce international flight slots during the winter schedule, ending the immediate threat of cancellations or shifts to Navi Mumbai airport for passengers travelling between October 25 and the end of March, the airport operator said on Tuesday.
The decision follows a meeting between Mumbai airport’s airline operators’ committee and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, which operates both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports. Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said airlines had committed to supporting the redevelopment of Mumbai airport’s ageing Terminal 1, allowing the winter schedule to continue without slot reductions.
MIAL spokesperson said AAHL director Jeet Adani and chief executive Arun Bansal had assured airlines of minimal disruption and respect for historical slot allocations. “They have further given a commitment not to disturb any slots for the winter schedule,” the spokesperson said.
The assurance defuses a standoff over an earlier plan to make room at Terminal 2 for domestic flights that would be displaced when the redevelopment of Terminal 1 begins. MIAL had written to airlines on October 1 proposing a temporary reduction of 265 of the 770 weekly international departure slots from October 25. The proposal would have affected 46 Indian and foreign carriers and removed around 38 international departures a day.
That plan would have created capacity at Mumbai airport for domestic operations during the Terminal 1 redevelopment. The terminal handles about 15 million domestic passengers annually, according to MIAL. With the proposed winter cuts now withdrawn, passengers booked on international flights to or from Mumbai airport will not face cancellations or airport transfers under the winter schedule announced in the report.
The operator has, however, indicated that changes could still begin during the summer schedule, which runs from around March 27 to October 31 next year. MIAL said “traffic balancing” would begin in summer, raising the possibility that some international flights could be cancelled or moved to Navi Mumbai airport during that period. It also said it would support airlines that choose to shift operations to the newer airport.
A joint working group will spend two weeks preparing an implementation plan for the Terminal 1 redevelopment. MIAL did not provide a revised timeline for the phased demolition of the terminal. The airport operator and airlines are expected to meet again on October 28 and, until then, engage with individual carriers’ network and slot teams.
The dispute had prompted intervention from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on October 3. The latest arrangement keeps the winter flight schedule unchanged but leaves the operational details of the summer transition to be worked out between the airport operator and airlines. Those discussions will determine how traffic is balanced between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports while the Terminal 1 project moves forward.
