Mumbai airport operator MIAL plans to begin demolishing Terminal 1 in April 2027 and complete its replacement by December 2030, a redevelopment that is expected to raise the airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity from about 55 million to 65 million.
Adani Airport Holdings-controlled Mumbai International Airport Ltd. shared the proposed construction schedule and artistic impressions of the new terminal with the Airline Operators Committee on October 28. MIAL said Terminal 1, which was commissioned in 1964, needed to be replaced because of its age and structural condition. The operator cited independent audits by Structwel in 2017 and IIT Bombay in 2024.
The new Terminal 1 is planned to handle 20 million passengers a year, compared with the existing terminal’s capacity of 15 million. The redevelopment will expand check-in, security screening, boarding and baggage-handling facilities. The number of check-in counters is expected to increase by 47% to 109 from 74, while security infrastructure will include 15 passenger screening lanes and five transfer lanes.
The terminal is also planned to have 25 contact stands, more than three times the existing seven, along with 12 e-gates and 11 baggage reclaim belts. The current terminal has five baggage reclaim belts. MIAL said the architectural images showed its design vision and should not be treated as a final representation of the completed building.
Construction will require a temporary redistribution of passenger traffic between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport. MIAL has proposed shifting five million passengers a year, including international traffic, from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai during the redevelopment. IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air have finalised plans to transfer international operations accounting for about three million passengers annually to Navi Mumbai.
MIAL has asked other airlines to submit their transition plans by November 3 so that the proposed transfer can be implemented during the Northern Summer 2027 schedule. The operator said the temporary shift would leave 91% of Mumbai airport’s current traffic unaffected and that the reduction had been incorporated into the airport’s approved tariff order after stakeholder consultations.
The proposed transfer has faced resistance from airlines concerned about consultation and operational effects. MIAL had earlier proposed moving 265 of the 770 weekly international departure slots at Terminal 2—roughly one-third of the total—to Navi Mumbai to create capacity ahead of the redevelopment. The Ministry of Civil Aviation intervened earlier in October and asked MIAL to defer its original plan while working with airlines on an agreed transition roadmap.
The International Air Transport Association has called for demand-capacity assessments and consultation with affected airlines before changes to airport slots are implemented. MIAL has separately assured airlines that their existing slot allocations will not be disturbed during the winter 2026-27 schedule.
To accommodate domestic traffic during construction, MIAL plans to expand the north-west pier at Terminal 2. The additional infrastructure is expected to become operational by March 2029, ahead of the targeted completion of the new Terminal 1 in December 2030. MIAL said traffic transfers would be phased to minimise passenger inconvenience and operational disruption.
The operator has also said that international traffic temporarily moved to Navi Mumbai will be restored to Mumbai airport once the Terminal 1 redevelopment is completed. The combined redevelopment of Terminals 1 and 2 is expected to take Mumbai airport’s overall annual passenger-handling capacity to about 65 million.
