Gulf airlines lose Mumbai slots, urged to move to Navi Mumbai

At least ten smaller Gulf airlines have been denied new take‑off and landing slots at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, with the Adani‑run operator telling them to relocate to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport as terminal works continue. The carriers named by airline sources are Oman Air, Gulf Air of Bahrain, Air Arabia of Sharjah, Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways, Qatar Airways, and four Saudi operators – Flyadeal, Flynas, Riyadh Air and Saudia. The denial comes alongside the airport’s plan to suspend services to 14 overseas cities – Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah – shifting those routes to Navi Mumbai. Airline representatives protested, saying a low‑cost carrier cannot split its operations between two airports without affecting staff, ground handling, cargo and its passenger catchment area, and asked for a phased move. The airport authority has been described as taking a hardline stance. The slot issue stems from Mumbai International Airport Ltd’s redevelopment of Terminal 1 and the migration of many domestic flights to Terminal 2. To free space, the operator proposed cutting 265 of Terminal 2’s 770 weekly international departure slots, impacting 46 airlines, and moving the remaining 40 % of international capacity to the new airport. Domestic carriers have already shifted about 60 % of the required capacity. After the Ministry of Civil Aviation stepped in, the Adani Group postponed the shift from the winter timetable to the summer 2027 schedule, assuring that existing slots will stay unchanged for the winter period.

Context

India’s airport expansion aims to separate domestic and international traffic, a pattern seen in other major hubs. Moving flights to Navi Mumbai is intended to ease congestion at the city airport but requires airlines to adjust operations and passenger connections.