India’s second-busiest international gateway, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, will suspend all flight operations today, 7 May, from 11:00 to 17:00 IST while engineers carry out pre-monsoon runway maintenance. Both primary runway 09/27 and secondary runway 14/32 will be closed, affecting an average of 300 departures and arrivals in the six-hour window. Airport management says the annual inspection is essential before Mumbai’s heavy rains begin in June; technicians will resurface high-wear zones, clear rubber deposits, test drainage pumps and recalibrate approach-lighting equipment. Airlines ranging from domestic carriers IndiGo and Air India to long-haul operators Emirates, British Airways and Lufthansa have issued waivers for date changes and are proactively re-routing or retiming services. Travellers have been warned that disruption may spill over to flights scheduled immediately before and after the closure because of backlog and crew-duty limitations. Mobility and relocation teams with personnel transiting Mumbai are advising same-day travellers to check flight status, consider alternative hubs such as Delhi or Bengaluru for critical connections, and build extra lay-over time into itineraries. The shutdown underscores the operational fragility of single-hub itineraries in India’s monsoon belt. Multinational companies with time-sensitive cargo or assignee household goods routed through Mumbai’s air-freight terminal have likewise been told to expect delays through the weekend as freighter slots are reshuffled.
Source: Goodreturns
