Adani Airports Holdings CEO Arun Bansal said on November 3, 2026, international airlines unwilling to shift operations to Navi Mumbai could stop flying to Mumbai. He made the statement at the India Aviation Summit. His remarks put the choice to foreign airlines as the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport prepares to receive flights.
The Terminal 1 rebuild drives the airport change
Airlines had been given notice to vacate existing facilities from April, Bansal said, and where they chose to operate afterward was their decision. Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL), also managed by Adani Airports, plans to close Terminal 1 for rebuilding from April 2027. The work reduces capacity at the older airport by about five million passengers a year, linking the terminal closure with a need to reorganise operations.¹²
The plan moves two hundred sixty-five of Mumbai airport’s seven hundred seventy weekly international departure slots from Terminal 2 to Navi Mumbai, about fifty kilometres away. It transfers part of the international departure allocation rather than all of it, shifting flights between the existing airport and the new one.¹²
The original transfer deadline, the twenty-sixth of October, was moved to the twenty-eighth of March 2027 after the aviation ministry intervened. The Airline Operators Committee-Mumbai, representing forty-six airlines flying from MIAL, asked the ministry to keep the current slots. The deadline change and the committee’s request leave the planned allocation contested by some carriers.¹²
Emirates and Air France-KLM have questioned the facilities and passenger demand at Navi Mumbai, raising concerns that the new airport may not yet meet their operational needs.¹²
Airlines differ over when to move
IndiGo, Air India Express and Akasa Air have agreed to split their international flights between the two airports. Several foreign airlines want until October 2027 to switch. Emirates and Air France-KLM have questioned the facilities and passenger demand at Navi Mumbai, raising concerns that the new airport may not yet meet their operational needs.¹²
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Read More →Navi Mumbai’s first terminal was designed to handle twenty million passengers a year. At full completion, the airport is planned to have four terminals and two runways, with capacity for ninety million passengers annually. The first terminal’s design capacity is therefore a smaller stage of the airport’s planned total, rather than the full build-out.¹²
The company expects the new airport to reach its full annual capacity of twenty million passengers by the end of March 2028. That target applies to the first terminal’s capacity, while the larger figure for the fully completed airport covers its planned four-terminal, two-runway layout.²
A second phase adds to the planned build-out
On October 28, Arun Bansal, CEO of Adani Airports Holding Ltd, told analysts that work on the second phase was scheduled to begin the following month. Terminal 1 cost about ₹19,646 crore, while Terminal 2 is expected to require about ₹30,000 crore. The two figures cover separate terminals in the airport’s construction programme.¹²
Navi Mumbai airport changes its operations leadership The new management structure at Navi Mumbai International Airport removes the chief executive officer position and puts operations under Subhash Murikenchery, the airport’s chief airport officer.
Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd is a joint venture in which the Adani Group holds seventy-four per cent and Cidco holds the remaining twenty-six per cent. Cidco is the Maharashtra government’s land development agency. The airport company is therefore jointly held by the Adani Group and the state agency.¹²
Navi Mumbai airport changes its operations leadership
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Read More →The new management structure at Navi Mumbai International Airport removes the chief executive officer position and puts operations under Subhash Murikenchery, the airport’s chief airport officer. Capt. B.V.J.K. Sharma is stepping down as CEO after steering the greenfield project from construction to commercial operations. Capt. B.V.J.K. Sharma took charge of the Navi Mumbai project in April 2021.¹²
Subhash Murikenchery, the airport’s chief airport officer, joined in March, according to his LinkedIn profile. Capt. B.V.J.K. Sharma, the departing CEO, had been joint managing director and CEO of JSW Infrastructure Ltd and director of ports at Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. Capt. B.V.J.K. Sharma wrote on LinkedIn that he was “continuing” his “journey within the Adani Group and contributing to its infrastructure ambitions.”¹²
Airport slot shifts reshape aviation careers
For aviation professionals, the dispute over Mumbai's international slots signals a period of operational uncertainty. The transfer of 265 weekly slots to Navi Mumbai, contested by 46 airlines, means route planners and airport managers must prepare for a split operation across two hubs. Those skilled in coordinating dual-airport logistics, especially with a terminal closure reducing capacity by five million passengers, gain leverage in negotiations.¹²
The management restructuring at Navi Mumbai, which removes the CEO role and places operations under a chief airport officer, reflects a shift toward leaner, operations-focused leadership. Professionals eyeing airport careers should weigh the value of hands-on operational expertise over traditional executive titles. The airport's phased expansion, with a second terminal costing ₹30,000 crore, also signals long-term demand for project managers adept at large-scale infrastructure delivery.¹²
Professionals eyeing airport careers should weigh the value of hands-on operational expertise over traditional executive titles.
Sources
- thehindu.com — https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/shift-to-navi-mumbai-or-stop-flying-to-mumbai-adani-airports-ceo-tells-foreign-airlines/article71660830.ece
- livemint.com — https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/navi-mumbai-airport-new-chief-subhash-murikenchery-leadership-change-11793676847975.html
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
