IndiGo and Air India to shift flights to Navi Mumbai airport for Terminal 1 upgrade

IndiGo and Air India Group will start moving flights from Mumbai's main airport to the new Navi Mumbai International Airport in December to make space for the long-awaited redevelopment of Terminal 1. The phased move will run through the summer 2027 aviation season while letting airlines keep their historical operating slots at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Flight Shifts

IndiGo will move 12 daily international departures from the main Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai, covering current routes to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta. The airline will also add a new daily flight to Kathmandu between February and July 2027 and shift supporting domestic flights to help passengers make international connections. Meanwhile, Air India Group will gradually move Air India Express services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah by the IATA Northern Summer 2027 season, alongside four daily domestic flights starting in December and Kuwait services in January 2027.

Airport Upgrade

The coordinated transition follows 18 months of talks between airlines and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, which runs both airports. The initial phase aims to shift about 5 million passengers and move roughly 3 million travellers, accounting for about 60 percent of the targeted relocation traffic. This will clear room to modernise Terminal 1, which will boost its annual handling capacity by about 33 percent from 15 million to 20 million passengers. The main Mumbai airport handles about 55 million passengers a year, and about 91 percent of its traffic will keep operating from the existing site during the work.

Context

Opening a second major airport in a fast-growing metropolitan region is a common strategy to ease heavy pressure on older, landlocked aviation hubs. Dual-airport systems help cities handle rising passenger numbers and expand international connectivity without running out of runway and terminal space. Airlines generally retain their valuable operating slots at the older airport to protect their business interests while adjusting to the new setup.