Mumbai airport T1 redevelopment: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis proposes phased plan to avoid flight disruptions

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has proposed a phased redevelopment of Terminal 1 T1 at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport CSMIA suggesting that the existing facility remain operational until its replacement is ready to prevent disruptions to flight servicesIn a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry Fadnavis has recommended an alternative construction sequence under which the new terminal would be developed before the existing facility is demolishedThe idea is to have simultaneous development so that there is no need to transfer or cancel flights a senior official in the Chief Ministers Office CMO told PTINew terminal to be built before demolition of existing facilityUnder the proposed plan Terminal 1B would be developed first Once construction is completed operations from Terminal 1A would be shifted to the new facilityTerminal 1A would then be demolished and reconstructed This approach would allow the airport to carry out the redevelopment in phases rather than shutting down the existing terminal before its replacement is readyThe proposal is aimed at maintaining flight operations during construction and avoiding the need to transfer or cancel services as part of the redevelopmentRedevelopment follows structural safety concernsTerminal 1 which was commissioned in 1964 is being redeveloped to address structural and safety concerns identified in audits conducted by Structwel in 2017 and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2024The assessments highlighted the need to replace the ageing infrastructure with a modern terminal equipped to handle growing passenger traffic and meet current operational requirementsThe redeveloped Terminal 1 is expected to increase passengerhandling capacity from 15 million passengers per annum MPPA to 20 MPPA an increase of around 33 per centThe upgraded facility will also include improvements to passenger processing security screening and other airport infrastructure It is targeted to become operational by March 2029International flight transition plan faces concernsMumbai airport operator Mumbai International Airport Ltd MIAL had initially planned to partially shift international flight operations from October 25 2026 The deadline was subsequently deferred to March 2027 following concerns raised by several foreign airlines over the proposed transitionTwo weeks ago representatives of more than 35 airlines and Mumbai airport officials held discussions on the plan to shift some international flight operations from CSMIA to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport NMIAThe meeting saw discussions on the transition arrangements with MIAL presenting detailed schedules for the Terminal 1 redevelopment sources had earlier saidNew proposal seeks to minimise passenger inconvenienceThe Chief Ministers proposal offers an alternative to the existing transition plan by prioritising the construction of the replacement facility before dismantling the current terminalIf accepted the phased approach could allow the airport to continue handling flights while redevelopment work progresses It would also address concerns about the operational impact of shifting a larger number of international services to NMIA during constructionWith inputs from PTI