Some of Mumbai’s company titans similar to Essar Group, Aditya Birla Group, JSW Steel and Taj Group are fuming over an eviction order concentrating on their enterprise jets on the Adani-owned Chhatrapati Shivaji Mumbai International Airport (CSMIA). Industry insiders declare the transfer is a strong-arm tactic to drive them to relocate to the soon-to-open Navi Mumbai airport, additionally underneath Adani’s management.
Adding gasoline to fireplace, Navi Mumbai airport has determined to levy a ₹20 crore parking stand payment, plus an annual payment, a price which some name “illegal”, arguing that solely the tariff regulator has the authority to repair such expenses. The transfer has additionally anxious chartered aircraft service suppliers who supply non-public air journey. They mentioned shoppers will choose the previous Mumbai airport due to its proximity to posh areas of the town recognized for its visitors jams.
This means constitution operators should drop them there and fly to Navi Mumbai for parking and in consequence, there can be a 30% rise in prices on account of further gasoline burn on high of which there can be further expense for utilizing two airports.
A spokesperson of the Adani Airport Holding Limited (AAHL) informed The Hindu, the relocation was necessitated to develop and enhance capability at CSMIA. It maintains that the charges for parking stands can be decided by way of an open bidding course of, based mostly on market demand and different elements. The AAHL is the biggest airport operator within the nation with eight airports in its fold that altogether report 23-25% passenger visitors . In different phrases, one in 4 air travellers make use of its airports.
On March 30, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) handed over termination letters to a number of company homes to vacate the parking house utilized by them by July 31, 2025 for the development of a taxiway for plane. The airport operator mentioned this was crucial for finishing up airport improvement works that embrace the development of a parallel taxiway in addition to enhancement of one of many two runways.
In its response, the Business Aircraft Operators’ Association (BAOA) has opposed the transfer taken “unilaterally” and asserted they weren’t squatters occupying parking house in an unauthorised method, however paying prescribed rental. They have mentioned that the eviction was “contrary to the principles governing public infrastructure management.”
The trade physique representing enterprise plane operators has written to the tariff regulator, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), demanding that CSMIA should improve its parking capability which is the “most critical requirement” on the airport. They have additionally demanded a viable various throughout both momentary or everlasting relocation which ought to be at no further price to the operators as such an extra expense was “legally unjustifiable” and warned of “judicial scrutiny”.
The submission from the BAOA was made as a part of trade consultations for revision of tariff for Mumbai airport for the tariff cycle 2024-2029.
Essar, Aditya Birla and JSW didn’t reply to emails. The Hindu was unable to achieve AERA Chairman, SKG Rahate, for a remark.
“It is categorically affirmed that all development and expansion activities at Mumbai International Airport (MIAL/CSMIA), being a public airport under applicable law, must be undertaken strictly in accordance with the statutory and regulatory framework governing public airports in India, including the Aircraft Act, 1934, the Airports Authority of India Act, and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 (AERA Act),” Group Captain (Retired) R.Okay. Bali, MD of BAOA, informed The Hindu.
According to Section 2(a) of the AERA Act, touchdown and parking expenses are categorized as aeronautical companies and are topic to regulatory oversight and management.
The ₹20 crore parking stand payment on the new airport is in sharp distinction to the nominal payment at the moment levied on the previous airport. For a mid-size enterprise jet similar to a Dassault Falcon 2000 weighing 9,500 kg, an operator must pay ₹106 for two.5 hours to three.5 hour as parking cost on the present price of ₹11.22 per metric tonne. The airport allowed 24 jets to additionally park in a single day on the similar price, that included primarily these plane owned by enterprise homes headquartered in Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai has additionally priced its hangars or house used for plane storage, upkeep, and restore at ₹200 crore for 10 years and a safety deposit of ₹100 crore, in keeping with trade sources, who mentioned this has deterred some gamers with current hangar house at CSMIA from in search of the identical facility at Navi Mumbai.
Charter service suppliers say dropping off shoppers on the previous airport after which flying to Navi Mumbai airport for parking will entail an extra hour spent in air and on floor leading to gasoline prices alone going up by practically ₹1.5 lakh on a visit price of ₹5.5 lakh per hour of plane utilization. This means the extra gasoline burn will lead to a hike in price by 30%. Along with a rise in different operational prices, there might be an impression on demand from prospects.
Business jet operators aren’t the one ones who’re sad. Commercial airways, together with worldwide ones, are upset on the proprietor of the 2 Mumbai airports asking them to both shift all their flights lock, inventory and barrel or transfer partial operations to Navi Mumbai. The world physique representing airways protested towards this transfer on their behalf throughout a session assembly of AERA final month.
“We would recommend that the airport operator should not use its position as the operator of a ‘Two airport system in Mumbai’ to forcefully move traffic around to essentially kickstart operations at NMIA,” Amitabh Khosla, nation director – India, International Air Transport Association, mentioned on the occasion
Navi Mumbai airport is ready for inauguration in June, practically two months not on time. The airport’s first part will see the opening of 1 runway and a terminal with passenger dealing with capability of 20 million passengers per 12 months.
The airport goals to report 10 million passengers in its first 12 months of operations. The deliberate renovation of CSMIA’s Terminal 1 will even lead to shifting of flights to Navi Mumbai. While the previous airport is a public-private partnership between AAHL (76% stakeholding) and Airports Authority of India (24%), the brand new airport at Navi Mumbai can also be a 74:26 three way partnership between AAHL and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).
Published – April 13, 2025 07:13 am IST
