Mumbai International Airport Limited has denied summer schedule slots to West Asia airlines (excluding those from Dubai and Abu Dhabi) as it prepares to move flights on fourteen foreign routes to Navi Mumbai airport.
MIAL proposed to shift all flights on the fourteen West Asia routes to Navi Mumbai in a letter to Civil Aviation Ministry on October 30 | Photo
Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport Limited has denied summer schedule slots to West Asia airlines (excluding those from Dubai and Abu Dhabi) as it prepares to move flights on fourteen foreign routes to Navi Mumbai airport.
On Thursday, MIAL informed slot coordinators of various West Asian airlines that it can not accomodate the requested summer 2027 slots necessitating a temporary transition out of Mumbai airport.
Indian carriers Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air have announced plans to shift flights to eleven destinations in West Asia as well as Dhaka, Jakarta and Kathmandu to Navi Mumbai from summer schedule.
MIAL proposed to shift all flights on the fourteen routes to Navi Mumbai in a letter to Civil Aviation Ministry on October 30. This would ensure that all flights to fourteen destinations operate from a single airport in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it said.
The move has upset airlines who warn that such actions by Mumbai airport could lead to reciprocal restrictions for Indian carriers.
“Has the Civil Aviation Ministry given its approval to MIAL’s plan?,” asked an airline executive. He pointed out that the issue of shifting all flights on fourteen routes was not even discussed in October 28 meeting.
As per MIAL proposal, destinations which will see transition of flights to Navi Mumbai include Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dhaka, Fujairah, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuwait, Medina, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber