Mumbai: Airlines have rejected Mumbai airport operator’s proposed relocation of a third of international flights from Mumbai Terminal 2 (T2) to Navi Mumbai airport in summer 2027, saying they have not consented to any transfer or reduction of slots and demanding evidence to justify the move.In a letter to Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) on Saturday, the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), which represents airlines operating from Mumbai airport, said it “categorically rejects any unilateral traffic reallocation, slot reduction or cancellation or relocation of international operations without due process”.The next meeting between airlines and airport operators is set for Oct 28.The AOC letter followed MIAL’s Oct 16 communication asking airlines to complete consultations by Oct 21 on a proposed transfer of 5 million international passengers per annum from T2 to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).MIAL had sent the letter following an Oct 13 meeting with stakeholders in which it assured carriers that historical slots would not be disturbed during the winter schedule, which runs until March-end. MIAL’s “traffic balancing” was proposed to begin in summer 2027.“The airport operator must honour and comply with the ministry of civil aviation’s slot-allocation guidelines issued in May 2013, as well as the International Air Transport Association’s Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines,” the AOC letter said, adding that individual consultations with certain airlines could not be construed as collective acceptance of the proposed shift. The letter said airlines had neither agreed to transfer international operations from Mumbai to NMIA nor consented to any reduction or cancellation of their allocated slots.The AOC letter also questioned the need to cut international departure slots at T2 to accommodate the 5 million domestic passengers (per annum) who will be displaced when phase 1 of T1 demolition and reconstruction begins. It pointed out that T1 currently handles fewer than 10 million passengers per annum (mppa), against its capacity of 15 mppa, while T2 is expected to gain an additional capacity of five mppa by March 2027. “No substantiated justification has been provided for reducing or cancelling slots at CSMIA (Mumbai airport). Any such proposal must be supported by verifiable capacity assessments, operational data and a clear, evidence-based justification,” the AOC letter said.The letter said discussion should commence with a comprehensive T1 refurbishment plan, including its scope, structural safety assessment, implementation phases, timelines, terminal-wise passenger capacity and utilisation data, and measures to accommodate traffic during redevelopment. These details must be shared and jointly examined before alternative operational arrangements are considered, it said.“MIAL is requested to refrain from treating the proposed traffic reallocation as a settled decision or taking any action that may prejudice the rights or allocated slots of AOC member airlines,” the letter said. It sought a written response by Oct 21 confirming that no unilateral action affecting airline slots would be taken pending meaningful consultation and compliance with applicable guidelines.The dispute began with MIAL’s Oct 1 proposal to temporarily cut 265 of Mumbai airport’s 770 weekly international departure slots from Oct 25, the beginning of the winter schedule. The cuts would have affected 46 Indian and foreign airlines, removing around 38 international departures a day to free up capacity at T2 for domestic passengers displaced by the redevelopment of T1.The civil aviation ministry intervened on Oct 3 after airlines objected that the winter schedule had been approved in June and aircraft deployment and advance bookings were already under way. Following the Oct 13 meeting, MIAL assured carriers that historical slots would remain untouched until the winter schedule ends in March 2027.The first phase of T1 redevelopment was scheduled to begin on Jan 15, 2027, with the north section of T1B, accounting for around one-third of the terminal’s capacity, slated for demolition.
