Navi Mumbai International Airport will begin receiving flights from Air India Express and IndiGo in phases from December 2026, as airlines prepare to redistribute operations from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and support the redevelopment of its Terminal 1.
Air India Express plans to start four daily domestic services from NMIA in December 2026. The airline is expected to add services to Kuwait, subject to the required approvals, and begin operating its existing Oman services from Navi Mumbai in January 2027.
The airline will then progressively move services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah to NMIA. Air India Group expects the transition to be completed by the IATA Northern Summer 2027 season. It said the plan had been developed in collaboration with the airport operator and was intended to maintain connectivity to the Mumbai market while CSMIA’s Terminal 1 is redeveloped.
IndiGo plans to begin international operations from NMIA in February 2027 and gradually transfer 12 daily international departures from CSMIA. The destinations listed for the transition are Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta. The airline also plans to introduce one additional daily service to Kathmandu.
IndiGo’s international network from NMIA is expected to cover 12 destinations between February and July 2027. The airline will also move the domestic connectivity required to support these international services. Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, the airport operator, is working on infrastructure to facilitate transfers between IndiGo’s domestic and international flights.
The changes are part of a broader capacity rebalancing plan for Mumbai’s two airports. The initial phase is intended to shift about five million passengers to NMIA. Approximately three million passengers, or around 70 per cent of the traffic targeted for relocation in this phase, are expected to move from CSMIA. The transition represents about 9 per cent of CSMIA’s annual passenger traffic of 55 million, while the remaining 91 per cent is expected to continue operating from the existing airport.
At CSMIA, the transfers will create space for IndiGo’s planned international expansion in 2027 and support capacity reductions required for the redevelopment of Terminal 1 by 2030. Any further changes required to IndiGo’s Terminal 1 services will be accommodated at Terminal 2, according to the announcement. IndiGo said final transition dates and new services at CSMIA would be announced after project coordination and the necessary operating approvals.
The redevelopment is expected to increase Terminal 1’s annual passenger-handling capacity by approximately 33 per cent, from 15 million to 20 million passengers. The modernised terminal is also expected to include upgraded passenger facilities, digital systems and safety improvements.
Connectivity to NMIA is planned to improve through three bridges—SBR9, BR4 and BR5—being built by CIDCO across Panvel Creek and the Gadhi River. The links are intended to connect the airport with Atal Setu, the Ulwe Coastal Road, Amra Marg and NH4B. The airport operator said NMIA had been developed with scalable infrastructure and multimodal connectivity to support future passenger and airline growth.
Air India Group said its historic slot rights at CSMIA would be preserved, with the airport operator stating that these rights would be honoured once the redeveloped terminal becomes operational. The schedules announced by both airlines remain planned transition timelines: IndiGo’s final dates are subject to coordination and operating approvals, while Air India Express’s planned Kuwait services also require approval.
