Emirates and Etihad Airways each face a cut of 10 weekly departures at Mumbai’s Terminal 2.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd has threatened the cuts from October 25.
In all, 265 of 770 weekly international departure slots are involved.
Indian carriers IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air, Air India Express and SpiceJet are also affected.
Airlines must name slots by 4 pm on October 6.
MIAL has asked airlines to identify the specific departure slots they want to discontinue by 4 pm on October 6.
For airlines that do not respond, MIAL will decide the cuts itself.
The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, has opposed compulsory airline relocations.
IATA has argued for voluntary transfers and for protecting existing slot entitlements during the transition.
A slot is the approved time at which an airline may take off from or land at an airport.
The reports did not include a direct statement from the government or the airlines on the proposed cut.
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and Terminal 2 opened in 2014.
October 25, 2026 is the last Sunday of October, the date on which the northern winter flight schedule normally begins.
Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, IndiGo and SpiceJet are Indian carriers, while Emirates and Etihad Airways are Gulf carriers.
The cuts are proposed on weekly international departure slots, which means the figures describe flights each week, not a single day.
IATA is the trade body that represents airlines worldwide.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd, or MIAL, has threatened to temporarily discontinue 265 weekly international departure slots at Terminal 2 from October 25, 2026.
The cut would be about 33% of the 770 weekly international departure slots at the terminal.
The reduction would affect 46 airlines.
MIAL cited a dispute with airlines over the transition linked to the redevelopment of Terminal 1.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
