Mumbai Airport News: MIAL and Airlines Reach Truce, Winter Schedule Unchanged
Mumbai Airport News
The standoff between Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and airlines over moving some flight operations has eased. This brings relief to both airlines and passengers. The issue of redeveloping Terminal 1 (T1), however, is still not fully settled.
At a meeting on Tuesday, October 13, MIAL agreed to leave the airlines’ Winter Schedule undisturbed. MIAL also agreed to work with airlines to arrive at a transition plan that both sides accept. This plan will allow it to go ahead with the redevelopment of Terminal 1 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
MIAL is a joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The meeting also set aside MIAL’s proposed cancellation of 265 weekly international departure slots at Terminal 2 of CSMIA. Slots are the fixed timings given to airlines for takeoffs and landings, so losing them would have forced airlines to cut flights or change schedules.
Sources present at the meeting told CNBC-TV18 that Jeet Adani, Non-Executive Director of Adani Airport Holdings, committed to honouring historic slots. The sources said he also accepted that MIAL’s earlier approach of deciding on its own to reduce capacity at T2 was not right. These details come from unnamed sources and have not been confirmed in an official statement in the report.
The truce solves the immediate problem, but the main question of how to carry out the T1 redevelopment remains open. Both sides have only agreed to work together on a transition plan. The plan has not been finalised, and the report does not give a timeline.
For now, passengers do not need to worry about sudden changes in their international flights during the Winter Schedule. Travellers should still check with their airlines for the latest updates, as the redevelopment of Terminal 1 may bring changes later.
Ajeet Yadav is an aviation enthusiast covering airline news, airports, aircraft, and industry developments through well-researched and reliable reporting.
