Mumbai: Airlines have sought the civil aviation ministry’s intervention to prevent the Mumbai airport operator from reducing airport capacity by 5 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in the coming summer schedule, which begins around March end.In an email sent Monday to the civil aviation secretary, the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) alleged that Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) had communicated its decision to cut capacity at a meeting with airlines on Oct 28 without providing adequate justification or transparently disclosing the airport’s actual available capacity. The committee said this was contrary to assurances given by MIAL at an Oct 13 meeting that future decisions would be taken mutually and in consultation with stakeholders.The AOC urged MoCA to direct MIAL and the airport’s slot coordinator to approve and confirm historical slots submitted by all existing airlines in their initial summer schedule 2027 applications before the Nov 5 deadline. “We further request that no historical slots be denied, reduced, cancelled or reallocated unilaterally without due process and adherence to the ministry of civil aviation and International Air Transport Association slot guidelines,” the letter said.The intervention comes amid an escalating standoff between airlines and MIAL over the airport operator’s plan to shift traffic to Navi Mumbai airport ahead of the redevelopment and partial demolition of Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1. MIAL has proposed freeing up capacity at Terminal 2 as part of a plan to transfer around 5 million passengers annually to Navi Mumbai, with airlines disputing the proposed slot cuts and their implications for existing operations.
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