Mumbai Airport Standoff: Airlines Reject 33% International Slot Cut, Seek Government Intervention

Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), operated by Adani Airport Holdings, has informed 46 airlines that 265 of the 770 weekly international departure slots at Terminal 2 (T2) will be temporarily discontinued from 23:59 on October 25, coinciding with the start of the winter schedule. The airport operator says the freed-up capacity is needed to accommodate domestic traffic displaced by the redevelopment of Terminal 1 (T1), which handles domestic flights and is scheduled for phased demolition starting January 2027.

Airlines have formally rejected the proposed reduction, according to multiple reports. Their position is that support for T1 redevelopment cannot be treated as consent to flight cancellations or unilateral reductions in T2 operations.

The carriers argue that the winter schedule, covering October 25 to end-March, was approved in June 2026, with networks, aircraft deployment and passenger commitments already planned around the approved capacity. An airline official told The Times of India that travel agents have already blocked and paid for a large number of seats, and that roughly 35% to 40% of seats on most November and December flights from Mumbai have already been sold, making late cancellations or a shift to Navi Mumbai extremely difficult to execute.

Airlines have also questioned the consultation process. Sources say a July 30 meeting was convened without an agenda, and a subsequent September 16 meeting, ostensibly called to discuss the T1 redevelopment timeline, focused instead on shifting T2 flights to Navi Mumbai.

Carriers have additionally flagged legal exposure. Officials note that European airlines face the greatest compliance risk under EU 261 regulations, which guarantee passenger refund and rebooking rights regardless of the cause, even though winter tickets have already been sold.

According to the airline-wise schedule circulated by MIAL, IndiGo faces the largest reduction among Indian carriers at 74 weekly slots out of 224 currently operated, followed by Air India at 33 out of 100, Akasa Air at 11, Air India Express at 7 and SpiceJet at 5.

Among international carriers, Emirates and Etihad Airways are each set to lose 10 weekly slots out of 28, while British Airways loses 7 out of 21. Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Kuwait Airways, Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Oman Air, Ethiopian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Air Arabia each face cuts of 5 weekly slots.

MIAL has given airlines until 16:00 on October 6 to identify the specific slots they are willing to temporarily discontinue. If they fail to respond, MIAL says it will select the slots itself based on operational, capacity and implementation considerations.

That ultimatum has further inflamed the dispute. Airlines argue that a unilateral capacity cut lacks due process when the winter schedule has already been approved, and they have asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to convene a detailed multi-stakeholder meeting and to ensure the airport operator does not proceed unilaterally without airline consent.

The ministry has now stepped in. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting at 14:00 on October 6, two hours before the MIAL deadline, according to Mint. IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, along with IATA and the Federation of Indian Airlines, are expected to attend.

MIAL is offering affected airlines the option to shift operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is also operated by Adani Airport Holdings. To encourage the move, NMIA is offering a 100% waiver on landing fees for new international flights, plus cash vouchers for international passengers to offset the User Development Fee difference between the two airports.

Adani Airport Holdings has defended the plan, stating that 91% of Mumbai passenger traffic remains unaffected and that only around 5 million passengers, about 9% of the airport's 55 million annual traffic, will be temporarily impacted.

AAHL CEO Arun Bansal said T1 has long been identified as a safety-related concern, with only temporary mitigation measures implemented over the years due to the absence of a viable alternative. Following a fire incident at T1 in April 2026, he said, the planned closure and phased demolition of Terminal 1 can no longer be deferred, adding that passenger safety must come first and that further delay could adversely affect the safety and convenience of millions of travellers.

The airport operator also claims that extensive consultations with airlines on the future of T1 have been ongoing since 2020, and that the redevelopment proposal was presented to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority and incorporated into the approved tariff framework. Bansal emphasised that the shift to Navi Mumbai is temporary and does not represent a permanent migration of Mumbai airport traffic, and that airlines' historic slot rights will be restored once the redeveloped T1 is commissioned, expected in 2029-30, with capacity rising from 15 million to 20 million passengers.

For travellers flying internationally from Mumbai this winter, the practical consequences are becoming clearer. The removal of 265 weekly international departures translates to roughly 38 fewer international flights per day during the peak winter travel season, and with festive and wedding-season demand still strong, fares are likely to rise.

Some flights may shift to Navi Mumbai, requiring passengers to travel significantly farther to the airport. Others may be cancelled outright or redeployed to other Indian cities. An industry official told The Times of India that carriers may not necessarily move cut flights to Navi Mumbai, noting that one foreign airline has indicated it may redeploy grounded flights to Hyderabad or Bengaluru instead, which would leave Mumbai-origin travellers with fewer options.