New Delhi: Union civil aviation secretary Samir Sinha has called a meeting of airlines and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) on Tuesday to find an amicable solution to the impasse over shifting some flights to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and beginning phase-wise redevelopment of Mumbai airport terminal 1 (T1).T1 has been built in phases over six decades, with T1B dating to 1965, T1A to 1992 and T1C to 2010. MIAL plans to begin redevelopment with the oldest portion, citing structural safety concerns.Airlines have resisted splitting operations between Mumbai’s two airports. Air France-KLM GM India Stefan Gumuseli said last week: “From an efficiency perspective, we have teams on the ground (at Mumbai), and to split, we need to have new teams. There will be more challenges to train (people). From that perspective, splitting is not an option.”Concerns over T1’s structural condition date back nearly a decade. A 2017 structural audit of T1B found severe corrosion in some areas, including spalling concrete, exposed and snapped reinforcement and cracks. It said the affected areas could create “serious concerns” and advised demolition.An AERA tariff consultation paper in September 2020 had also noted MIAL’s submission that T1B had “become structurally weak”, while acknowledging the project’s necessity from the standpoint of structural safety. The planned reconstruction was deferred amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Officials are now concerned that deterioration may have worsened over the years. The collapse of a canopy at Delhi airport during heavy rain in June 2024, which killed one person, has added to concerns about ageing airport structures.
