MUMBAI: Mumbai airport operator has informed airlines operating to 14 international destinations that it cannot accommodate their requested slots for the summer 2027 schedule, beginning late March.The airlines will have to temporarily move their flights out of its terminal 2 (T2) for the coming summer and subsequent seasons. With this, flights to Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Madinah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah will be moved out of Mumbai airport.If the airport operator’s plan comes through, these foreign airlines would be left with an option to move these flights to Navi Mumbai airport or temporarily suspend them altogether.Last week, IndiGo and Air India Group announced plans to progressively shift 38 daily international flights operating to the said 14 destinations from Mumbai to NMIA.Sources said Mumbai airport has allocated slots to 38 of the 50 international airlines for the summer 2027 schedule. A total 12 airlines, operating around 32 daily flights to 14 destinations, have not been allocated slots at Mumbai from the end of March 2027.In its letter sent Thursday, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said that T2’s capacity will be reduced by 5 million passengers per annum (mppa) and so the airport won’t be able to accommodate flights to the said destinations from next summer and subsequent seasons.The 14 destinations have reportedly been selected to ensure that connectivity between the Mumbai metropolitan region and these cities is concentrated at one airport, minimising confusion for passengers.“Affected historic slots will be fully restored once T2 expansion is completed and additional capacity becomes available,” the letter added. Earlier, MIAL had said that historic slots will be resorted only when T1 reconstruction is complete in 2030 or later.But T2 expansion is expected to be complete by March 2029, according to a presentation made to airlines by MIAL last month .On Oct 1, MIAL informed 46 Indian and foreign airlines that it plans to cut 265 out of 770 weekly international departure slots at Mumbai airport to accommodate 5 million domestic passengers displaced in the first phase of T1 demolition.MIAL had asked airlines to submit by Nov 3 their plans for temporarily vacating these slots at Mumbai airport for summer 2027. However, the impact will widen from the winter 2027 schedule, when T1 will shut down completely.The terminal, which handles 15 mppa, is scheduled to be entirely demolished by March 2028, with reconstruction beginning only after that.This will leave another 10 mppa of domestic traffic displaced, taking the total capacity affected to 15 mppa until the new T1 is ready, expected by Dec 2030. IndiGo and Air India Group have already announced plans to progressively shift 38 daily international flights from Mumbai to NMIA.
