After a meeting on October 6, the Civil Aviation Ministry asked Adani Airports and airlines to finalise a transition plan by October 20 and suggested delaying the shift of international flights from Mumbai airport by a few weeks.
The outcome is a pause and not a resolution. Airlines opposed the timeline and said the changes were hard to implement, and the ministry responded by calling two more meetings, on October 13 and October 20.
The condition on Adani is paperwork. The ministry directed it to submit its request for the Major Development Plan for Terminal 1, a key requirement for the wider redevelopment.
The direction of travel has not changed. Skift reported that the move to Navi Mumbai is still coming, and Adani has said Navi Mumbai can handle up to 5 million international passengers a year.
The reports did not say whether the October 25 date for the Terminal 2 cuts has been formally withdrawn.
Airlines and Adani Airport Holdings will meet on October 13, followed by another meeting on October 20 to finalise the plan, according to Millennium Post.
The ministry also directed Adani Airports to submit its request for the Major Development Plan for the redevelopment of Terminal 1.
The Major Development Plan is a key requirement for taking the wider redevelopment exercise forward.
BW Businessworld reported that the government has put Adani Airports’ Terminal 1 plan on hold.
Adani Airport Holdings had asked airlines to cut 33% of international flights from Mumbai or discontinue them by October 25.
The proposal was to suspend 265 of 770 weekly international departures at Terminal 2.
The operator said the reduction is needed to free up check-in counters, baggage belts, gates and office space at Terminal 2 for domestic operations moving from Terminal 1.
Airlines opposed the proposed timeline, arguing that the changes would be hard to implement operationally and need more time for planning.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0