Adani to demolish Mumbai Airport’s T1 in 2029 after Navi Mumbai Terminal 2 is ready

Adani Group will demolish Terminal 1 of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in 2029, but only after Terminal 2 of the Navi Mumbai Airport is ready, said Arun Bansal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, in a media briefing.

Workers could be seen rushing around in white safety helmets, operating tractors and other heavy construction vehicles, as they try to complete the work before the first commercial flights begin in December this year. India’s top three airlines—Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa—are set to start operations from Day 1, while international airlines are expected to join in once night operations are approved.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the airport on Wednesday, following the receipt of an aerodrome licence from the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on 30 September.

In Phase 1, flight operations will be limited to between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. Although international flights will also start at the same time as domestic flights, international airlines are expected to join after permits for night operations are obtained, Bansal said.

The airport will open with a single runway. International airlines will benefit from a one-year waiver on parking fees, while domestic carriers will not receive similar concessions, said Bansal, speaking to reporters at the Navi Mumbai project office.

Designed around a lotus theme, the airport is initially expected to handle 20 million passengers annually. Terminal 2 will add 30 million more, with Terminals 3 and 4 contributing an additional 20 million each. Once complete, the airport will feature four terminals and two runways, with a total annual passenger capacity of 90 million.

The capital expenditure for Terminal 1 was around ₹19,646 crore, while the investment for Terminal 2 is planned to be around ₹30,000 crore, said Captain B.V.J.K. Sharma, chief executive officer, Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The airport will also serve as a major cargo hub, initially handling 0.5 million tonnes per year and scaling up to over 3 million tonnes per year.

The airport is being developed in multiple phases by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd. It is a joint venture between the Adani Group, which holds a 74% stake, and Cidco, the Maharashtra government’s land development agency, which has the remaining 26% stake.

In May, IndiGo announced its operational plan, which includes 18 daily departures to more than 15 cities from the first day of operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport. Tata’s Air India Express will have 20 daily departures to over 15 cities in the initial phase, it said in a press release last month. In June, Akasa, which has overtaken SpiceJet to become the third-largest airline, announced that it will start with over 100 weekly domestic flights from Navi Mumbai, expanding to more than 300 domestic and 50 international departures by winter. It will also add 10 parking bases and expand into key Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian markets by FY27.

In FY25, the airport business contributed 10% to the total consolidated income and 21% to the total Ebitda. Income from the airport business jumped 27% to ₹8,062 crore in FY25.