IndiGo and Air India Express to move flights to Navi Mumbai from December
Gulf and Asian routes will move from Mumbai's main airport to the new Navi Mumbai airport to make room for a rebuild of Terminal 1.
IndiGo and Air India Express plan to begin shifting services out of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in December, sending them to the newer Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). The Hindu and Mint reported that the relocation is meant to clear room so Terminal 1 at CSMIA can be rebuilt.
Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) runs both airports. The handover will be staggered until the 2027 northern summer season, and the carriers keep their historical slots at the older airport. According to The Hindu, the airlines and AAHL negotiated for close to 18 months before settling the plan, and the operator has said those slots will be handed back once the rebuild is done.
The Hindu put the first-phase target at roughly 5 million passengers shifted to Navi Mumbai. The IndiGo and Air India transfers make up about 3 million of that, or close to 60 per cent. CSMIA carries around 55 million travellers a year, and the operator expects about 91 per cent of them to keep using it while construction is under way.
Air India Express goes first. Mint said the carrier intends to fly four domestic services a day from NMIA beginning in December 2026. In January 2027 it plans to relocate its current Oman flights and start its proposed Kuwait route, though Kuwait still needs regulatory clearance. The Air India Group separately said Air India Express flights to Sharjah, Doha, Muscat, Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam would move in stages, wrapping up by the IATA Northern Summer 2027 season.
Mint reported that IndiGo's international flying at NMIA is due to start in February 2027. A joint statement from the airline and the airport said IndiGo will gradually shift 12 daily international departures, its entire existing CSMIA operation to Jakarta, Dhaka, Muscat, Kuwait, Bahrain, Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, Dammam, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. A new daily Kathmandu flight takes its NMIA international network to 12 destinations between February and July 2027. Domestic services will follow so travellers can change planes at the new airport.
The room created at the older airport will let IndiGo open new routes to Europe, Africa and Asia in 2027, flown with A320, A321 and A321XLR aircraft. The joint statement called the staged shift a "transparent, equitable and proportionate rebalancing of capacity" between the two airports, and said Terminal 2 would absorb any further changes to IndiGo's Terminal 1 flights.
The Hindu said the works should raise Terminal 1's yearly throughput from 15 million to 20 million passengers, an increase of about 33 per cent. Mint said the project would make capacity adjustments necessary by 2030.
NMIA opened to commercial traffic in December 2025, according to Mint. The Hindu said its first phase is built for 20 million passengers a year, with growth to 90 million planned. IndiGo will confirm final transfer dates after project coordination wraps up and operating approvals are in hand.
Sources: The Hindu, IndiGo, Air India to shift flights to Navi Mumbai as Mumbai airport prepares Terminal 1 redevelopment; Mint, Navi Mumbai airport flights news: These two airlines set to shift flights from Mumbai airport starting December.
