Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1 to close this year, shifting 10 million travelers to Navi Mumbai
When the Navi Mumbai airport opens up in late May, travelers will have an important decision to make: choose the new airport or stick with the one in Mumbai? However, as the years go by, this choice might not be so clear, with Navi Mumbai airport expected to take the lead.
Looking ahead to the early 2030s, the Navi Mumbai airport is projected to manage the majority of flights in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), becoming the primary airport while the Mumbai airport turns into a secondary option.
This winter, only about one in five of the 55 million people who currently use Mumbai airport will make their way to the new Navi Mumbai airport. Out of the 15 million passengers coming through Mumbai’s Terminal 1 (T1) at Santacruz (East), around 10 million are expected to shift to the new Terminal 1 at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) by the end of October, with the remaining 5 million continuing to use Mumbai’s Terminal 2 (T2) in Sahar, as stated by an NMIA official.
To help with this transition, the capacity at Mumbai T2 will increase from 40 million to 45 million passengers, according to the source.
At present, all flights, both domestic and international, land on Mumbai airport’s only operational runway before passengers are taken to their terminals, T2 or T1. Most private and charter flights will also be moving to the Navi Mumbai airport soon.
This winter, the air traffic congestion at Mumbai airport is expected to ease, which should help improve its on-time performance. This means that flights will likely wait less time to land or to start pushing back for departures.
In the long run, the busy Mumbai airport is set to become the second airport for MMR. Big cities around the world usually have multiple airports, with one being the main hub and others serving as backups. For instance, London has Heathrow as its main airport while Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton function as secondary options. New York operates similarly, with John F. Kennedy as the primary airport and Newark Liberty and LaGuardia taking on secondary roles.
Currently, Mumbai airport serves 55 million passengers in 2024. Throughout this decade, it will continue to be Mumbai’s main airport while the new Navi Mumbai airport at Ulwe will act as a secondary hub, handling about 10 million passengers this year and expecting to grow to 20 million by the middle of 2026.
Navi Mumbai T1 is set to manage about 20 million passengers per year, or roughly 55,000 passengers daily, and is predicted to reach its full capacity by mid-2026, potentially one of the quickest saturation timelines for a new airport terminal on a global scale. Navi Mumbai T2 will have a capacity of 30 million passengers per year and is scheduled to be ready by 2029. “Between 2026 and 2029, we will expand the buildings at Mumbai T2 and Navi Mumbai T1 to keep up with the rising number of travelers,” the official mentioned.
The new airport will keep growing, with more terminal buildings being added and overall capacity increasing. It will likely look like a construction site for years, as development continues across its 2,860 acres over the next decade.
The overloaded Mumbai airport will find it hard to keep up with the growth of Navi Mumbai airport. By 2030, both airports are expected to serve over 50-55 million passengers each, competing closely. However, as Navi Mumbai airport expands, the situation will shift by 2032: it will become the primary airport in the region—its own Heathrow—boasting parallel runways.
By 2032, Navi Mumbai airport will introduce Terminal 3, accommodating 20 million passengers per year, and Terminal 4 by 2036, also with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year. This will push Navi Mumbai airport’s capacity up to 90 million passengers a year, a number Mumbai airport, much like Gatwick in London, won’t be able to match, ultimately making it the secondary airport for the region.
BVJK Sharma, CEO of Navi Mumbai International Airport, said: “The Navi Mumbai airport is well connected by various modes of transport, and we believe we can meet the growing demand of the MMR.”
He expressed optimism that the airport will play a significant role in the growth of both the region and the country.
Ultimately, this competition between the two airports will signal a significant decline for Mumbai airport, which was the busiest in India until 2010. With no room to expand due to its surroundings and limited land options, Mumbai airport has struggled to grow. This lack of infrastructure has pushed Delhi airport ahead, making it the busiest in the country, a position that the National Capital Region will likely hold.
The new Navi Mumbai airport won’t restore Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s status in terms of passenger numbers, as both Delhi airport and the upcoming Jewar airport, also set to open this year, will have a larger capacity than the combination of both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports.