IndiGo and Air India Express to Shift Mumbai Flights to Navi Mumbai Airport
IndiGo and Air India Express are preparing to move dozens of flights from Mumbai's existing airport to Navi Mumbai International Airport from late 2026.
By The Aviation Hub
4 min read
India's two biggest low-cost carriers are preparing to move a substantial number of flights to Navi Mumbai airport, in a phased shift that will ease pressure on Mumbai's existing airport as it heads into a major redevelopment.
CNBCTV18 reports that IndiGo and Air India Express will progressively transfer international and domestic services from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), with moves beginning as early as December 2026 and continuing through the Northern Summer 2027 schedule.
What IndiGo Is Moving and When
IndiGo will begin international operations from NMIA in February 2027, transferring 12 daily departures from CSMIA. According to a joint statement from IndiGo and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), cited by The Hindu, the transition will cover existing services to Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Muscat, Dhaka and Jakarta.
The airline will also introduce a new daily service to Kathmandu, bringing its international network at NMIA to 12 destinations between February and July 2027. IndiGo will simultaneously shift the domestic connectivity flights needed to support those international services, so that passengers can connect between its domestic and international operations at the new airport.
Final dates for the transfers will be confirmed once project coordination is complete and the necessary operating approvals are in place, IndiGo and AAHL said.
What Air India Express Is Planning
Air India Express is preparing a separate phased transition. CNBCTV18 reports that the airline plans to launch four daily domestic flights from NMIA in December 2026, followed by services to Kuwait and existing routes to Oman from January 2027. The Kuwait flights remain subject to regulatory approval.
The airline will then progressively move services to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah, with the full transition expected to be complete by the Northern Summer 2027 schedule.
Why CSMIA Needs the Capacity
The moves are directly linked to the planned redevelopment of Terminal 1 at CSMIA, which The Hindu says is expected to take place by 2030. Terminal 1 currently handles a significant volume of domestic traffic, and the redevelopment requires a meaningful reduction in operations there.
IndiGo and AAHL confirmed that any further adjustments to IndiGo's services at Terminal 1 would be absorbed at Terminal 2, as the redevelopment progresses. The phased approach is intended to minimise disruption and give airlines and passengers greater certainty during the transition.
What the Shift Means for IndiGo's Network
Freeing up slots at CSMIA will give IndiGo room to grow. The Hindu reports that the airline intends to use the released capacity to introduce new international routes across Asia, Africa and Europe in 2027, operating its expanding fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, including the A321XLR.
IndiGo currently operates more than 430 aircraft and runs nearly 2,200 daily flights, connecting over 95 domestic and 40 international destinations, according to the airline. Readers wanting to explore IndiGo's full route network can use our Airline Search tool.
The Dual-Airport Vision: Navi Mumbai Airport and CSMIA
AAHL, which is part of Adani Enterprises Ltd and operates eight airports including both CSMIA and NMIA, is positioning the two airports as a complementary system for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. CNBCTV18 reports that the arrangement is designed to expand passenger access to domestic and international destinations while allowing redevelopment work to proceed at the older facility.
The phased rebalancing reflects a broader trend of Indian cities developing secondary airport capacity to manage rapidly growing air travel demand. For passengers, the key practical consequence is the need to check which airport their flight is departing from when booking or connecting, particularly as services shift in stages across late 2026 and 2027.
The Bottom Line
The transfer of flights from CSMIA to Navi Mumbai airport marks a significant step in establishing NMIA as a genuine second hub for the Mumbai region. With IndiGo moving 12 international routes and Air India Express shifting its West Asia network, the new airport will take on a substantial role well before the decade is out.
The Terminal 1 redevelopment deadline of 2030 gives the process a firm deadline, and the involvement of Adani Airport Holdings on both sides of the equation should help coordinate the logistics. Passengers booked on services to the Gulf, South Asia or Southeast Asia from Mumbai should watch for announcements on exact transfer dates once approvals are confirmed.
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