{
  "id": 18520989,
  "title": "Foreign carriers take fight to aviation ministry after Adani blocks 12 airlines",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/foreign-carriers-take-fight-to-aviation-ministry-after-adani-blocks",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-06T15:13:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/foreign-carriers-take-fight-to-aviation-min-after-adani-blocks-12-airlines-11793969339931.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Twelve foreign airlines, primarily from the Gulf and West Asia, have appealed to India's civil aviation ministry to reverse Mumbai airport's refusal to grant them take-off and landing slots for the summer of 2027. Should the decision remain unchanged, these airlines would either have to reroute their flights to Navi Mumbai or cease operations altogether. Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which manages Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), recently finalized its slot allocation list. The list accommodated 38 out of the 50 international airlines seeking to fly from April, but left none for the remaining 12. These 12 airlines operate approximately 16 flights daily to 14 destinations, amounting to around 112 flights per week, which constitutes nearly 15% of the airport's 770 weekly international departures, according to Mint's data. Responding to the airline operators' concerns, MIAL's Airline Operators Committee (AOC) in Mumbai wrote to Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, querying whether MIAL had the ministry's sanction to reduce the airport's capacity and revoke the slots that these airlines have utilized for years. The email requested MIAL to reconsider its decision and restore all historical slots of the affected airlines for the northern summer 2027 schedule, which commences in April. The airports under question include Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka, and Doha, among others. Collectively, these 12 carriers manage about 112 weekly departures, representing nearly 15% of Mumbai airport's 770 weekly international departures, as per Mint's review. The civil aviation ministry has not yet responded to Mint's inquiries. Furthermore, the airlines have questioned the manner of the slot denials, alleging that the airport operator suspended allocations without further consultation. The committee emphasized that any capacity-related adjustments must adhere to the established regulatory framework and ensure fair treatment of all airlines. MIAL informed the airlines via email on November 5 that capacity would decline by five million passengers annually from summer 2027, prompting the need for these airlines to relocate to Terminal 2 temporarily. The company assured that the old slots would be reinstated once Terminal 2's expansion is finished. Airlines have contested the rationale behind the capacity reduction, contending that Terminal 1 handled fewer than 10 million passengers annually, which is significantly below its installed capacity of 15 million. The committee noted that MIAL had not sufficiently clarified the assessment behind the proposed five-million-passenger reduction. Mumbai airport processed 55 million passengers in FY26, including 38 million domestic and 17 million international passengers. The latest development intensifies a month-long conflict between Adani Airport and international airlines regarding the redistribution of flights between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to free up capacity for Terminal 1's redevelopment. On October 1, Mumbai airport proposed temporarily discontinuing 265 of its 770 weekly international departure slots at Terminal 2, starting from October 25, and requested airlines to shift some operations to Navi Mumbai. The proposal affected 46 airlines and faced resistance from foreign carriers. Consequently, the ministry instructed MIAL to postpone the plan. Indian carriers, such as IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air, have since consented to relocate 140-odd weekly international departures to Navi Mumbai. Foreign carriers have persisted in their resistance, citing the distance between the airports, connectivity issues, and the disruption to established operations. On October 30, MIAL once again approached the ministry, requesting support to shift international services to Navi Mumbai from the summer 2027 schedule, which serves 14 destinations.",
  "summary": "Twelve foreign airlines have gone to the civil aviation ministry after Mumbai airport refused them slots for next summer. The airport says it is losing capacity while Terminal 1 is rebuilt, the airlines don’t buy that.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}