Mumbai Airport T1 Revamp Raises Questions Over Timing

By Zinal Dedhia

What?

The redevelopment of Mumbai airport’s ageing Terminal 1 was always expected to disrupt airline operations. But the timing of the project has become contentious as MIAL prepares to demolish the northern section of T1B from January 2027 and shift part of the traffic to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).

MIAL plans to reduce or shift around 265 of Mumbai airport’s 770 weekly international departures across 46 airlines. The airport operator says the section being demolished is around 60 years old and nearing the end of its structural life, making phased redevelopment necessary on safety grounds.

The operator plans to accommodate as much traffic as possible at Terminal 2, while airlines have also been given NMIA as an option.

Why?

Aviation experts agree that T1 needs refurbishment but question whether the transition could have been better timed to give NMIA more time to stabilise.

Former AAI official Vijai Agrawal said Mumbai airport could have continued operating at reduced capacity while NMIA’s road, metro and supporting infrastructure matured. Aviation expert Vandana Singh similarly said an extension of a few months could have allowed the new airport to stabilise before taking on additional traffic.

The concern is not only about the airport itself. NMIA has faced reported issues around cargo, ground handling, manpower and connectivity, while its wider ecosystem — including maintenance, catering and passenger transport — is still developing.

The plan itself has also changed over time, from rebuilding T1B to a proposal to demolish the entire T1 complex, and now to a phased demolition beginning with part of T1B.

MIAL says the redevelopment is necessary and cannot simply be postponed.

But could the transition have been timed differently to give Navi Mumbai more time to find its feet?

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

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55.2

That’s how much India’s services sector expanded in September, according to the HSBC India Services PMI. The reading rose from 54.1 in August, marking the sector’s fastest growth in three months as stronger domestic demand drove new business.

The Lead: New orders grew at their fastest pace since June, with firms reporting stronger demand for digital solutions, food, insurance, loans, software, transportation and travel. Finance and insurance and consumer services recorded the strongest growth in activity and sales.

Pivot: But the improvement was not enough to lift the broader quarter. Services activity averaged lower in July-September than in the previous quarter, marking its weakest quarterly performance since the three months ended March 2022. Export-order growth also slowed to its weakest pace in nearly three years.

Input-cost inflation, meanwhile, fell to a 10-month low. Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said this reduced the need for service providers to raise selling prices, while expectations for future activity improved for a second consecutive month.

Campa Gets Court Relief

A Delhi High Court has allowed Reliance Industries to continue marketing its Campa brand products as "energy drinks," after the food safety regulator's label ban threatened to disrupt its beverages business, Reuters reported.

The court also asked FSSAI why it had not issued Reliance a notice before passing the order, telling the agency it was "never too late" to correct its mistake.

Fast Facts: FSSAI issued an order on June 30 directing makers of high-caffeine beverages to stop using the "energy drink" description. Reliance holds finished inventory of 168 million cans and 120 million plastic bottles, along with pre-printed packaging for an additional 400 million cans and 360 million bottles bearing the label.

State authorities have seized Reliance stock and ordered e-commerce platforms to remove the products. PepsiCo and Monster Beverage have also sued FSSAI, while Red Bull separately secured a court reprieve last week.

Background: The label ban threatens Reliance's ambitions in India's fast-growing energy drinks market, where retail sales are expanding 12.6% a year, outstripping growth in the US and China, according to Euromonitor.

Reliance revived the Campa brand in 2023, using its retail network and low prices to challenge Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Tata Trusts Rift Deepens

Four trustees of the Tata charities that control the $277 billion Tata empire have accused two fellow trustees of breaking with their long-held opposition to listing Tata Sons, two sources familiar with a letter sent on Monday told Reuters.

The letter, dated October 5, was sent by Noel Tata, his son Neville Tata, senior lawyer Darius Khambata and longtime Tata executive Bhaskar Bhat to trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh.

Context: Tata Sons, the holding company of 26 publicly listed Tata Group companies, is at the centre of a dispute with Tata Trusts, which owns 66% of the company.

The four trustees argued that keeping Tata Sons unlisted had been debated and endorsed on multiple occasions, according to the two sources who read out the contents of the letter to Reuters.

A recent proposal to restructure Tata Sons is being considered after India's central bank rejected the conglomerate's request for an exemption from rules that would require it to list.

Critical Moment: Reuters reported last week that fault lines had emerged among trustees over proposals that could allow Tata Sons to avoid a stock market listing, while separate complaints have raised broader governance concerns within the trusts.

Airline Federation Seeks ATF Relief

Indian airlines have warned the government that soaring air traffic fuel (ATF) costs, longer flight routes caused by airspace restrictions, higher crew expenses and rupee depreciation are squeezing finances and could force carriers to withdraw from “unsustainable” routes.

Context: In a September 25 letter, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said ATF now accounts for 55–60% of operating costs, compared with 30–40% historically. ATF prices have risen sharply due to higher global crude oil prices and an unusually wide jet-fuel refining margin, exacerbated by the West Asia conflict and supply disruptions.

What's Next? FIA has sought a shift to cost-plus ATF pricing, a fixed-rate excise levy, lower VAT in several states and an extension of reduced landing and parking charges, warning that airlines have limited ability to pass rising costs on to passengers.

Private Equity Bets On Data Centres

Private equity investment in Indian real estate rose 23% year-on-year to $2.7 billion in the first half of FY27, according to ANAROCK. Data centres emerged as the biggest new bet, accounting for 29% of PE inflows, up from 4% in FY26. But most of that jump came from a single large deal: CPP Investments committed $729 million to CtrlS Data Centers and its projects.

Backdrop: Office remained the largest asset class, attracting 35% of inflows, while residential accounted for 14% and hospitality 12%.

Domestic investors also stepped up, deploying about $1.3 billion across 24 deals, nearly six times the amount invested in H1 FY26. Foreign investors put in $1.4 billion across six deals.

Catch Up Quick: Overall, investors completed 30 deals, up 36% year-on-year, while the average deal size rose 18% to $91 million.

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Crude Oil Is Flowing Out Of West Asia But Not Refined Products Like Diesel

On Episode 998 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Saharsh Damani, CEO at FADA, as well as Abhishek Gupta, Founder, Managing Partner, Pierag Consulting.

• Crude Oil Is Flowing Out Of West Asia But Not Refined Products Like Diesel

• Markets Continue Recovery As Oil Prices Fall

• India Sees Record Auto Sales In September Across Most Categories

• Are GCCs Consolidating Back Into IT Services Companies?

• Power Demand Is Rocketing As Country’s Second Summer Kicks In