Mumbai Airport Authority (MIAL) has issued a directive to all airline operators to relocate 5 million international passengers annually to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) by the Southern Summer 2027 schedule.
IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air have already finalized plans to shift approximately 3 million passengers, leaving the remaining 2 million to be filed by each carrier by November 3.
CSMIA currently handles about 55 million passengers a year; the temporary shift would leave 91 % of traffic unaffected while the redevelopment of Terminals 1 and 2 is expected to raise capacity to 65 million annually.
The urgency was underscored by structural audit reports from Structwel in 2017 and IIT Bombay in 2024, which highlighted a nine‑year delay in the Terminal 1 project.
MIAL has assured airlines that once Terminal 2 is expanded, all temporarily relocated traffic will return to CSMIA. The transition hinges on the airlines’ plan submissions and the finalized summer 2027 timetable.
Airlines are therefore racing to meet the November 3 deadline; failure to comply could trigger operational disruptions and delay the airport’s expansion timeline.