Foreign carriers take fight to aviation ministry after Adani blocks 12 airlines

Mumbai airport operator MIAL has accepted slot requests from 38 of the 50 international airlines seeking to operate from April 2027. It rejected the requests of the remaining 12 carriers. Without those slots, their Mumbai flights may need to shift to Navi Mumbai or stop operating.

The affected airlines are mainly from the Gulf and West Asia. They include Oman Air, Gulf Air Arabia, Kuwait Airways and Qatar Airways. Their services connect Mumbai with 14 destinations, including Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka and Doha.

The decision is part of a wider dispute over airport capacity and Terminal 1 redevelopment. The Airline Operators Committee has asked the civil aviation ministry to tell MIAL to restore the affected airlines’ historical slots. MIAL says it will restore them after Terminal 2 expansion is complete.

An airport slot is a scheduled permission for an airline to arrive or depart at a particular airport during a defined period. It gives the carrier access to scarce operating capacity. Without an available slot, an airline cannot reliably schedule a flight at that airport.

This matters most at crowded airports such as Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Runways, gates, terminals and related facilities can handle only a limited number of aircraft and passengers at once. The airport operator therefore compares airline requests with available capacity before finalising a slot list.

For airlines, a slot is more than a time on a timetable. It supports recurring routes, aircraft planning, crew assignments and passenger connections. In this dispute, airlines say their long-used historical slots should not be withdrawn without consultation or the prescribed regulatory process.

The affected operation is substantial rather than marginal. Twelve foreign airlines run about 16 flights a day from Mumbai. Together, that equals roughly 112 departures each week, covering services to 14 destinations.

Those flights account for nearly 15% of Mumbai airport’s 770 weekly international departures. The destinations include Bahrain, Dammam, Dhaka and Doha. The carriers include Oman Air, Gulf Air Arabia, Kuwait Airways and Qatar Airways. Operations of the other 38 international airlines remain unaffected.

The figures explain why the dispute matters to both airlines and the airport. Removing or relocating 112 weekly departures would reshape international connectivity from Mumbai. It could also affect passenger links and airline schedules. MIAL’s decision followed its review of requests from 50 international airlines for the Northern Summer 2027 timetable.

MIAL told airlines that Mumbai airport’s capacity would drop by five million passengers a year from summer 2027. It linked the reduction to redevelopment work and said affected airlines must leave Terminal 2 for now. MIAL promised to restore their old slots after Terminal 2’s expansion is complete.

The capacity claim is contested. Airlines say Terminal 1 handled fewer than 10 million passengers annually, even though its installed capacity is 15 million. The Airline Operators Committee argues that MIAL has not adequately explained the assessment behind the five-million-passenger reduction.

The disagreement sits within a larger plan to redevelop Terminal 1 and redistribute flights between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. MIAL has sought ministry support for moving international services from the summer 2027 schedule. The civil aviation ministry had earlier asked MIAL to defer a related plan, but the dispute remains unresolved.

A move between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai would change how passengers reach flights and connect between services. The Airline Operators Committee warned that the transition could disrupt passenger connectivity, network planning, interline arrangements and codeshare partnerships. Operational efficiency could also suffer.

For example, an airline currently linking Mumbai with Doha, Dhaka or Bahrain would need to rebuild its timetable around another airport. Passengers transferring between airlines could face a less convenient airport connection. Airlines would also have to adjust aircraft rotations, crew plans and relationships with partner carriers, although the article does not quantify the practical delays.

If flights move, established Mumbai operations would be interrupted. If they stop, the affected destinations could lose those services from Mumbai altogether. MIAL says historical slots will return after Terminal 2 expansion, but the timing and final arrangements remain unsettled. Foreign airlines continue to resist the proposed relocation.

Foreign airlines are resisting because Navi Mumbai is a separate airport, and they cite the distance between the two airports. They also point to connectivity concerns and disruption to established operations. These issues matter for passengers, airline schedules and partner connections.

The immediate alternative is relocation. MIAL has asked airlines to shift some services from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, and Indian carriers have agreed to move about 140 weekly international departures. Foreign carriers have continued to resist that arrangement. They are instead asking for their historical Mumbai slots to be restored.

If Mumbai slots remain unavailable, the article identifies two practical outcomes for the affected services: relocation to Navi Mumbai or stopping altogether. MIAL says the old slots will return after Terminal 2 expansion is complete. The Airline Operators Committee has also asked the civil aviation ministry to intervene and require reconsideration.

Airports allocate slots by comparing airline requests with the capacity available for a schedule period. The airport operator prepares a slot list, while aviation authorities oversee whether changes follow the applicable regulatory framework. Capacity limits can reflect runways, terminals, gates and passenger handling facilities.

In Mumbai, MIAL reviewed requests from 50 international airlines and found room for 38. It denied the other 12 carriers’ requests for Northern Summer 2027. The Airline Operators Committee says any capacity adjustment should involve consultation and non-discriminatory treatment. It also questions whether MIAL had ministry approval to revoke long-used slots.

Historical slots matter because they support routes that airlines have operated for years. They help carriers plan aircraft, crews, schedules and passenger connections around familiar operating times. MIAL says it will restore the affected slots after Terminal 2 expansion, while airlines want them retained or restored immediately.