Major Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India are relocating a portion of their international operations to the Navi Mumbai International Airport, expanding their footprint at the new aviation hub designed to serve the country’s financial capital.
IndiGo announced the migration in a joint statement issued with airport operator Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. on Sunday, confirming plans to progressively transfer 12 daily international departures from Mumbai’s congested Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) beginning in February 2027. The shift encompasses all existing IndiGo routes from Mumbai connecting to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka, and Jakarta. A planned daily service to Kathmandu is also included in the transition.
Meanwhile, the Air India Group will begin gradually shifting select flights to the Middle East starting in January, with the complete transition anticipated to wrap up by the 2027 summer schedule. Certain services remain contingent upon final regulatory approvals. Additionally, low-cost subsidiary Air India Express plans to launch four daily domestic flights out of the new facility beginning in December 2026.
The strategic reallocation of flights coincides with preparations at Mumbai’s older aviation hub to redevelop its aging Terminal 1, necessitating a division of air traffic between the metropolitan area’s dual airports. While carriers historically pushed back against relocation efforts away from CSMIA, the Adani Group currently controls both facilities, positioning the operator to dictate traffic distribution across India’s primary financial center.
Representatives for the dual airport system emphasized that the phased transition aims to foster an equitable balancing of capacity between the two terminals while reflecting each carrier’s existing operational footprint at CSMIA.
Controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, Adani Airport Holdings operates as India’s largest private-sector airport operator, managing eight airports spread across seven cities. The company has outlined ambitious expansion strategies, including an $11 billion investment program aimed at securing up to a dozen additional terminal bids by 2030.
