Mumbai: The long-simmering standoff between Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and international air carriers has entered a critical juncture as the airport has awarded operating slots at Terminal-2 (T-2) to only 38 of the 50 international airlines servicing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
Qatar Airways, Oman Air Among 12 Airlines Left Without Slots
In its finalised allocation for the Summer 2027 schedule starting late March 2027, the airport operator has left at least 12 international carriers – predominantly Gulf-based operators – without slots at Mumbai’s primary hub. According to sources, these airlines include Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Riyadh Air, Jazeera Airways, SalamAir, flydeal, Flynas and Nepal Airlines.
These 12 airlines operate around 16 daily flights from CSMIA to 14 destinations in the Gulf, West Asia and South Asia. The latest development comes in line with the previous letter from Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, proposing transition of 14 destinations to NMIA. These destinations include , Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.
This move leaves the carriers with only two options – either transfer their operations to NMIA or halt flights to the financial capital for at least three years until T-1 expansion work is completed. AAHL has repeatedly stressed that they are not forcing any airline to shift to the new airport although it is operationally ready to serve.
MIAL Plans To Retain 91% Of Existing Passenger Capacity
MIAL previously said that the slot structure for Summer 2027 is designed to preserve roughly 91% of CSMIA’s existing passenger traffic capacity while systematically transferring roughly 5 million passengers to NMIA. According to AAHL's plan, 3 million of these passengers will be shifted through Indian airlines like IndiGo, Air India Express and Akasa Air while the remaining 2 million will be shifted through international airlines.
Notably, the international carriers have shown intense resistance against the plan and have requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for its intervention.
While MIAL maintains that moving flights to NMIA will provide long-term congestion relief for Mumbai’s airspace and ground operations, international airlines argue that forcing carriers to operate out of NMIA before seamless connectivity infrastructure between the two airports is fully operational creates significant logistical hurdles.
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