Adani Airports to redevelop Mumbai Airport Terminal 1B from January 2027

January start for terminal rebuild

Adani Airports is to begin a phased redevelopment of Mumbai Airport's Terminal 1 in January 2027, a project that will temporarily shift about five million passengers a year to the new Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The project will start with the demolition of the North Section of Terminal 1B. The structure is nearly 60 years old, and operators say a complete rebuild is necessary due to safety concerns.

According to Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), the work will affect about nine per cent of Mumbai Airport's total annual passenger traffic of 55 million. The other 91 per cent of flights and passenger services will continue to operate as normal.

Shifting traffic to Navi Mumbai

"Only the North Section of Terminal 1B, which accounts for around one-third of T1 of Mumbai Airport's capacity, is being demolished in Phase 1 to minimise passenger inconvenience and operational disruption," said Arun Bansal, the chief executive of AAHL. He emphasised that the shift to Navi Mumbai is temporary and does not mark a permanent move away from the main city airport.

Terminal 1 currently handles around 15 million passengers a year. Once the redevelopment is complete, its capacity will rise by 33 per cent to 20 million passengers. Adani Airports said the finished terminal will restore all previous flight slots and open up new capacity for airlines.

Safety at the ageing terminal has been an issue for years, with the airport previously relying on temporary repairs. A fire at Terminal 1 in April this year brought those risks back into focus.

Easing the transition for airlines

The company said the launch of Navi Mumbai International Airport has finally made the rebuild possible by providing a nearby terminal capable of taking the extra flights. To encourage airlines to make the move, the Navi Mumbai airport is offering a 100 per cent discount on landing fees for new international flights. It also plans to give international passengers cash vouchers to offset the difference in user development fees between the two sites.

Bansal said the company has been talking to airlines about the terminal's future since 2020. The redevelopment plan was also presented to the regulator, AERA, and included in the approved tariff framework.

"While we appreciate the concerns expressed by certain airlines, passenger safety must remain paramount," Bansal said, warning that any further delay could put travellers at risk.

Adani Airport Holdings, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, manages eight airports in India, handling more than 23 per cent of the country's passenger traffic.