One of India’s main cargo gateways, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), is planning to suspend freighter operations for 10 months in order to carry out upgrades.
India’s Business Standard reports that airport operator Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has written to users outlining plans to suspend freighter operations between August 2026 and May 2027.
The airport operator, a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Airports Authority of India, said that during that time it would look to “completely” rebuild the cargo aircraft apron, which it described as “worn out”.
The cargo area rebuild is part of a wider project that will also “recarpet” the main runway. This work will require the development of a new taxiway to reach the second runway and the demolition of cargo infrastructure.
MIAL added that moving freighter operations to another area of the airport would not be feasible due to continuous passenger operations and space constraints.
The airport is the second busiest in India in terms of passenger traffic and handles more than 850,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
CSMIA is also the world’s largest single-runway airport – while it has two runways, only one can be operational at one time – and is space constrained.
As an alternative, Navi Mumbai International Airport began operations on 25 December but local cargo groups have argued that it is not yet a viable alternative.
They have urged MIAL to reconsider its decision, warning that the move would put exports under further pressure, having last year been affected by US tariffs, and increase costs.
The airport operator had last year hoped to carry out the upgrade work and had also then proposed the closure of the cargo area for 10 months.
However, the work was delayed after a campaign by Mumbai’s cargo community.
