The United States, in a letter to the Indian government, has flagged the Adani Group’s push to shift cargo carriers to its new airport in Navi Mumbai.
The US Department of Transportation has written to the Indian Aviation Ministry against Adani Airport Holdings asking freighters to move to the Navi Mumbai airport when refurbishment work takes place at the Mumbai airport during August 2026 to May 2027, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
The US department argued that such a move would amount to a violation of the bilateral Air Transport Agreement. The department warned that if the airport operator moves ahead with the plan, it would be compelled to take adverse measures under the treaty.
FedEx is currently the only American cargo airline operating out of Mumbai’s main airport, according to the terminal’s website, the report added.
Moving away from the centrally located airport could affect carriers’ access to prime operating slots — rights that are protected for an American carrier under the bilateral air services pact that the US department invoked in its letter.
The Adani Group company has directed freight operators to shift operations to the Navi Mumbai International Airport between August 2026 and May 2027 due to refurbishment works at the Mumbai Airport.
The refurbishment work includes operationalisation of Taxiway-E and rapid exit taxiways, which will temporarily impact nearly 25 percent of cargo handling capacity, according to the airport operator.
But the US department said that the shifting of cargo activity did not seem a neutral decision on the part of Adani Airport Holdings. Instead, it looked like an effort to populate the new airport, which began commercial operations in December only.
According to the report, the US department was working to ensure US carriers’ rights under the US-India Air Transport Agreement.
Indian authorities have reached out to the Adani Group company in order to seek a mutually agreeable solution.
