IndiGo, Air India defer Navi Mumbai flight shift to 2027

By Tom Whitfield

Adani Airport Holdings and the airlines have agreed to phase international flight transfers from Terminal 2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport through summer 2027, replacing an October 25 plan to cut 265 of the origin airport’s 770 weekly international departure slots.

Under the Air India Group and IndiGo plan, Air India Express will start four daily domestic flights from Navi Mumbai in December 2026 before adding international service in January; IndiGo will begin international flights in February and transfer services through July.

Why did Mumbai’s Terminal 2 schedule change?

Adani had told airlines it would remove 265 of Terminal 2’s 770 weekly international departure slots from October 25. It wanted the capacity for domestic flights displaced by Terminal 1 redevelopment, a move affecting 46 carriers. Airlines said the winter schedule already had approval and that tickets were on sale.

IATA called the proposal a “forced relocation.” Airlines objected, prompting government intervention, and Adani agreed to leave the approved winter slots alone. The replacement plan spreads the airport transition across the 2027 summer schedule, removing the immediate risk to winter inventory.

Takeaway: The compromise protects booked winter travel and delays the shift in international capacity to 2027.

When do Air India Group and IndiGo move?\n

The announcement separates the two carriers into different launch sequences and leaves most route frequencies unpublished.

• Air India Express: Four daily domestic flights from Navi Mumbai begin in December 2026, followed by international service in January 2027.
• IndiGo: International operations begin in February 2027, and the transfer continues through July. IndiGo has the largest announced move.
• Connecting inventory: IndiGo will also shift some domestic services to Navi Mumbai to feed its international network. Adani and IndiGo said they are working together on the infrastructure those connections require.
• Destinations: The announcement names Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait City, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta within a 12-destination target, mostly in the Gulf.
• Kathmandu: IndiGo also plans to add a daily Kathmandu service.

Takeaway: Sellers can mark the launch dates, but route frequencies beyond Air India Express’s four daily flights and expected booking volumes remain unpublished.

What does the move mean for travel sellers?\n

The schedule provides bookable-route dates but not a complete commercial forecast. The announcements provide no passenger forecast, market-size estimate, ticket-revenue target, infrastructure budget or distribution-commission estimate, and they do not say how many of Terminal 2’s 770 weekly international departures will move.

The 265-slot figure describes Adani’s October proposal, not the phased transfer; the 12-destination network remains a target. For sellers, the announcement sets a timetable but not a reliable forecast of booking value.

Passenger charges create a second uncertainty. Navi Mumbai’s fee is INR 1,225, compared with INR 615 at Mumbai, a difference of INR 610. The ministry still has to decide the user development fee. Sellers cannot yet tell whether airlines will absorb that gap or pass it into fares, which affects both demand and booking value.

Ground access can compound that issue. The airports sit roughly 45 km apart, and a direct metro link is not expected until 2031. The announcement provides no road-transfer time, surface-fare data or forecast of transfer demand, leaving sellers without evidence for pricing connecting itineraries or estimating booking value.

The main uncertainty is carrier participation. Adani’s two-airport strategy depends on whether foreign airlines with complex connecting networks follow IndiGo and Air India Group. If they do not, sellers will have to split connecting itineraries between two airports, while Navi Mumbai’s higher fee and lack of a direct metro link make the planned traffic base harder to establish.

Takeaway: The next checkpoint is December 2026, when Air India Express is due to begin four daily domestic flights; by February 2027, fees, transfers and carrier participation will show whether Navi Mumbai can scale.