10 smaller Gulf carriers denied airport slots at Mumbai

The Adani Group-operated Mumbai airport has informed Gulf airlines that it will be unable to accommodate their requested slots for the Summer 2027 schedule due to capacity constraints from the redevelopment of Terminal 1B. The airport operator has assured the airlines that their historic slots will be restored once Terminal 2 is completed, adding five million additional passengers per annum.

However, Gulf carriers have termed this decision "unilateral" and have questioned its compliance with the Ministry of Civil Aviation's guidelines, as well as the airlines' consultation before the decision was made. Indian carriers, including Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa Air, have agreed to a phased transition plan to partially shift their international operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), while foreign carriers have resisted this proposal.

The Airline Operators’ Committee has sought the Civil Aviation Ministry's intervention to advise Mumbai airport authorities on the proposed capacity reduction and the slot allocation process.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.