Sena (UBT) backs CM’s airport fix, says NMIA has ‘poor infrastructure’

Controversy erupted after the Adani Group-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) instructed airlines to shift flights due to the redevelopment of the old Terminal1 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA)

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena (UBT) has backed chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s opposition to shifting international flights from the Mumbai airport to the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), alleging that NMIA lacked the infrastructure to meet the needs of international airlines.

Sena (UBT) backs CM’s airport fix, says NMIA has ‘poor infrastructure’

Controversy erupted after the Adani Group-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) instructed airlines to shift flights to 14 international destinations due to the redevelopment of the old Terminal1 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) The flights, to destinations such as Doha, Jeddah, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Muscat, were to be shifted in time for the summer schedule from March next year.

After airlines opposed the move, Fadnavis said he had written to the Union civil aviation ministry, suggesting an alternative arrangement. He said the redevelopment of Terminal 1B could be completed first, to accommodate flights from terminal 1A, which could then be rebuilt. This way, no flights would be disrupted, he reasoned.

Supporting the plan, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said international airlines were reluctant to move operations to the nearly year-old Navi Mumbai airport due to inadequate facilities there. He claimed several foreign carriers had raised objections to shifting their services and that the proposed relocation risked making Navi Mumbai an unwanted airport for international operators.

“Now Fadnavis has realised the reality of the Navi Mumbai airport’s quality. The airport is substandard and that’s why international airlines are reluctant to shift there,” said Raut.