Mumbai, Oct. 25 -- The announcement marks a significant step in the development of Mumbai's dual-airport system and the emergence of NMIA as a new international gateway.
IndiGo and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) have finalised plans to begin the airline's international operations from Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) from February 2027, marking a significant step in the development of Mumbai's dual-airport system and the emergence of NMIA as a new international gateway.
As part of the phased expansion, IndiGo will progressively transfer 12 daily international departures from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to NMIA. The shift will cover the airline's existing services from Mumbai to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta.
An additional daily service to Kathmandu will also be introduced, taking IndiGo's international network from NMIA to 12 destinations between February and July 2027. To support these international operations, the airline will also transition the required domestic connectivity from CSMIA to NMIA, enabling seamless onward connections for passengers.
"In close collaboration with IndiGo, AAHL has been working to enable the necessary infrastructure at NMIA for delivering a smooth and efficient transfer experience between IndiGo's international and domestic services at NMIA. This will mark the next step of IndiGo's expansion strategy to build NMIA as a long-term international hub," the two companies said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Once fully implemented, the transition is expected to significantly expand international connectivity from NMIA while creating additional growth opportunities at CSMIA, offering passengers across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region broader access to domestic and overseas destinations through the region's evolving twin-airport network.
Balancing Two Airports
The transition is expected to support two additional objectives at CSMIA. First, it will create capacity for IndiGo's continued international expansion in 2027, enabling the launch of new services across Asia, Africa and Europe using its growing fleet of A320neo-family aircraft and A321XLRs without placing additional pressure on a capacity-constrained airport.
Second, the associated shift of domestic operations will contribute to the capacity rationalisation required to facilitate the redevelopment of Terminal 1 (T1) at CSMIA by 2030. IndiGo and AAHL said they will continue to work together to ensure that any subsequent operational adjustments arising from the redevelopment programme will be accommodated at Terminal 2 (T2).
"The phased transition is intended to support a transparent, equitable and proportionate rebalancing of capacity across Mumbai's dual-airport system, taking into account each airline's presence at CSMIA. This balanced approach will help facilitate an orderly transition for all carriers, minimise operational disruption and provide greater planning certainty for airlines and passengers as NMIA scales up and CSMIA progresses with its redevelopment," the statement added.
IndiGo will announce the final schedule for the transition and the launch of new services after completing project coordination activities and securing the required regulatory and operating approvals.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Infrastructure Today.