IATA asks airlines to negotiate Mumbai slot cuts, seek longer transition period
New Delhi: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asked airlines to negotiate with Adani Airport Holdings Ltd for a longer transition timeline for shifting some international operations from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai, after the government deferred the airport operator’s plan to cut international departure slots by a third at Mumbai airport.
IATA has asked airlines to use global and Indian slot-allocation guidelines in their discussions with Adani Airport, including provisions aimed at protecting airlines’ existing slots, according to an email sent by the industry body to airline chiefs and reviewed by Mint.
Adani Airport, which operates the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, had proposed temporarily discontinuing 265 of 770 weekly international departure slots from Terminal 2 (T2) of the airport from 25 October as part of the transition of international operations to Navi Mumbai, about 50 km away. The move would affect 46 airlines. Navi Mumbai airport is also operated by Adani Airport.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd has proposed reducing international slots at T2 to accommodate domestic flights displaced by the phased rebuilding of the decades-old Terminal 1, starting January 2027.
IATA has urged affected airlines to participate in the 13 October meeting with the airport operator and other stakeholders, saying they now have an opportunity to discuss “the timetable, transition arrangements and practical alternatives” to the proposed shift of international operations to Navi Mumbai International Airport.
As per MoCA process
The email sent to airline chiefs by the IATA Slots Team shows that the global industry body is urging carriers to refer to global slot rules and the established slot-allocation process of the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) during their negotiations with Adani Airport, including provisions aimed at avoiding capacity reductions.
“Airlines may also choose independently to draw reference to the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG), Worldwide Airport Slot Board guidance for Managing Temporary Reduction in Airport Capacity, as well as MoCA’s own Guidelines for Slot Allocation,” IATA’s Slots Team said in the email.
Airlines, IATA and Adani Airport had not responded to Mint’s queries at press time.
The guidelines are important because they set out how temporary airport capacity reductions should be handled.
Under WASG, if a cut is unavoidable, airlines must be consulted, the reduction assessed and coordinated, and historic slots protected. A capacity cut that cannot accommodate historic slots, particularly after the submission deadline, should be avoided except in exceptional circumstances.
Avoiding capacity reduction
MoCA guidelines state that a reduction in capacity from the previous equivalent season should be avoided wherever possible. They also say airlines operating at the airport must be consulted before any reduction in capacity takes place.
In simple terms, IATA is telling airlines to negotiate before giving up established Mumbai slots, seek alternatives and ensure that the process protects their ability to retain those historic slots when normal capacity returns.
IATA’s position is that airlines should have a say in how the transition is implemented. It supports “airline choice rather than forced relocation wherever possible” and “protection of established historic precedence at Mumbai airport where an airline is affected by transitional arrangements.”
Mark D. Martin, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at Martin Consulting, said the bigger question was whether passengers would actually want to fly from Navi Mumbai.
“It’s not just about IATA, Adani or airlines. It is whether moving to Navi Mumbai helps a passenger or not. If not, the passenger will avoid the airport and services offered from it. That has to be the core issue to be looked into,” he said.
IATA’s intervention came hours after the ministry on Tuesday deferred Adani Airport’s proposal to temporarily discontinue these weekly international flights. The airport operator had asked airlines to identify the slots they wanted temporarily discontinued, failing which it said it would select them.
MoCA has now asked Adani Airport to re-engage with airlines and other stakeholders and work out an agreed transition plan. Adani Airport has scheduled the next stakeholder meeting for 13 October. A resolution is expected on or before 20 October.
IATA said airlines had also told the ministry that the earlier implementation schedule was unworkable. “IATA and airline representatives also stressed that the previously proposed implementation timeframe was not achievable,” it said.
Dispute amid T-1B development
The dispute is linked to Adani Airport’s plan to redevelop Terminal 1B at Mumbai airport from January 2027. The airport operator has said around 5 million passengers, or about 9% of Mumbai airport’s roughly 55 million annual passengers, will be temporarily affected by the redevelopment.
The airport handled 38 million domestic and over 16 million international passengers in 2025-26.
For airlines, moving international operations to Navi Mumbai involves more than shifting flight schedules. It can require changes to ground handling, crew deployment, passenger connections, cargo and other airport-linked operations.
There is also a passenger cost issue. Navi Mumbai has a higher user development fee than Mumbai airport.
“The real issue is not Mumbai vs Navi Mumbai, but how the transition is managed. Any disruption ultimately hits the passenger experience, airline net promoter score and potentially airline economics—not the airport operator alone,” said Ankur Singhal, founder of BASPIN Consulting.
“Such a large aviation transition therefore needs strict service-level agreements, clear accountability and a defined compensation mechanism for losses arising from operational disruption by the airport operator,” he added.
