Why are airlines fighting the cuts?

Mumbai International Airport will pull 265 of Terminal 2's 770 weekly international departure slots from 11:59 p.m. on October 25, telling 46 carriers to nominate which flights to drop by 4 p.m. Tuesday or face MIAL's selections.

The cuts hit a third of all international departures from the terminal and target flights already locked into the June winter schedule. In practice, the 265 slots translate to roughly 38 daily international departures vanishing from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International.

Operator MIAL, part of the Adani Group, needs the room for domestic flights displaced by the demolition and rebuild of the 1965-era Terminal 1. Carriers say aircraft, crews, and sold tickets are already committed to the slots MIAL now wants back.

Travel sellers with winter holiday packages anchored on Mumbai connections face schedule volatility weeks before peak travel begins.

Who bears the biggest cuts?

The cuts land unevenly across the 46 affected carriers:

• IndiGo: 74 weekly departures
• Air India: 33
• Akasa Air: 11
• Emirates: 10
• Etihad: 10
• Air India Express: 7

The Gulf carriers' exposure highlights Mumbai's role as a feeder for one-stop traffic from India to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and onward long-haul connections.

Airlines have asked India's Civil Aviation Ministry to intervene. The ministry has called both sides to a meeting on Tuesday, the same day as MIAL's deadline.

What is Adani offering as an alternative?

MIAL has directed carriers to Navi Mumbai International Airport, the group's second Mumbai hub that opened in December 2025, 45 kilometers from Terminal 2. Adani has offered a 100% landing fee waiver on new international routes operated from Navi Mumbai, plus planned passenger vouchers.

IATA has objected to what it called "forced relocation" and questioned Navi Mumbai's readiness for widebody international services. The group's letter flagged catering, ground handling, crew transport, and maintenance approvals as unproven at the new airport.

A direct Metro link to Navi Mumbai is not expected until 2031, leaving passengers to rely on road transfers for the 45-kilometer journey.

Who has publicly refused?

Air France-KLM said last week that splitting its Mumbai operations "is not an option." The group was among the first carriers to publicly reject the relocation, raising pressure on MIAL as Tuesday's deadline and ministry meeting both approach.

The group's Amsterdam and Paris services are among the long-haul flights MIAL wants to relocate to Navi Mumbai. IATA's broader objections over crew transport, ground handling, and passenger access at the new airport reinforce Air France-KLM's refusal to split operations.

What does this mean for sellers of travel?

The standoff puts 46 carriers in conflict with a single airport operator over capacity the carriers had already sold.

Airlines with thin Mumbai margins can redirect capacity to Delhi, Bangalore, or Gulf hubs, absorbing some of the lost seat volume. IndiGo, with 74 slots in play, has fewer easy alternatives; its international growth from Mumbai stalls if the cuts hold.

For trade partners, the immediate revenue risk is the late-October-to-December peak. Rebookings cost margin; full refunds cost top-line; involuntary reroutes through secondary gateways erode the value of Mumbai as a one-stop international hub.

Travel sellers with packages tied to onward Gulf or European flights carry the heaviest exposure, since tickets for the now-endangered slots had already been sold when the June winter schedule cleared.

What happens next?

If the ministry meeting fails to produce a compromise, MIAL can proceed with forced slot nominations at 4 p.m. Tuesday and remove the 265 slots at 11:59 p.m. on October 25. The airline objections to MIAL's relocation push now frame how carriers and intermediaries sell Mumbai through the peak winter window.