Slots at Mumbai airport are being redistributed and handed over temporarily as Jet Airways has curtailed operations. Vistara and AirAsia India were the first to add flights out of Mumbai. SpiceJet followed up by adding a few domestic as well as an international flight out of Mumbai.
IndiGo is next in line. IndiGo has announced a large expansion out of Mumbai, specifically Terminal 2. Mumbai will be the second airport after Delhi where IndiGo will have split domestic operations. Since Terminal 1 is full, and slot assignments take into account the capacity available at the airports as well as the routes which were left empty due to the earlier airline withdrawing, the new flights added will operate from Terminal 2. This should not be a challenge for IndiGo as they already offer international flights from this terminal so it is all about putting up a few more people to take up the job.
IndiGo A320neo
IndiGo will increase frequency on the following routes from April 15, 2019,
Mumbai – Indore
6E5386 BOM0715 – 0840IDR 320 D
6E5387 IDR0945 – 1110BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Kochi
6E5377 BOM2045 – 2240COK 320 D
6E5385 COK0425 – 0635BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Bengaluru
6E5383 BOM1630 – 1820BLR 320 D
6E5384 BLR2110 – 2320BOM 320 D
From June 5, 2019, IndiGo will add another frequency on Mumbai-Bengaluru route,
6E5396 BOM1630 – 1820BLR 320 x2
6E5395 BLR1345 – 1535BOM 320 x2
Mumbai – Baroda
6E5371 BOM0505 – 0625BDQ 320 D
6E5372 BDQ0700 – 0815BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Patna
6E5373 BOM0905 – 1135PAT 320 D
6E5374 PAT1205 – 1445BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Varanasi
IndiGo will only operate this frequency from April 15 to April 19, 2019.
6E5378 BOM0515 – 0740VNS 320 D
6E5379 VNS0820 – 1100BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Chennai
6E5391 BOM1805 – 2015MAA 320 D
6E5392 MAA2050 – 2300BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Hyderabad
6E5375 BOM1525 – 1655HYD 320 D
6E5376 HYD1740 – 1925BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Bhopal
IndiGo will only increase frequency on BOM-BHO route to 2x daily from April 15 to June 3, 2019.
6E5381 BOM1215 – 1340BHO 320 D
6E5382 BHO1410 – 1535BOM 320 D
Mumbai – Nagpur
6E5388 BOM1150 – 1325NAG 320 D
6E5389 NAG1530 – 1705BOM 320 D
From May 4, 2019, IndiGo will add another frequency on Mumbai – Nagpur, taking the total frequency to 4 daily.
6E5377 BOM2045 – 2220NAG 320 D
6E5385 NAG0500 – 0635BOM 320 D
Kochi flights are for a short period till May 3, 2019. After May 4, the slots will be used for Mumbai-Nagpur flights as the aircraft will be parked at Nagpur overnight instead. Rest of the routes are bookable till July 15, 2019.
All the above flights will leave from Mumbai Terminal 2. Notice, all the flight numbers are of 6E 53XX series. So if you are booked on a 6E53XX flight to/from Mumbai, the trip will be from/to Terminal 2.
If you are booking your flight tickets through IndiGo’s website, it isn’t mentioned which Terminal the flight departs from or arrives to. However, if you are using IndiGo’s app, the Terminal is mentioned.
Mumbai (T2) to Bhopal IndiGo app
That leaves Air India and GoAir. Will they announce more flights out of Mumbai? Both airlines have a few aircraft grounded, which if brought back would help them take advantage of this situation and expand out of Mumbai.
Which one of these new flights being added from Mumbai will become your go-to flight?
The early morning departure to BDQ from Terminal 2 will be a welcome addition for those connecting from middle of the night international arrivals, such as myself. With the disappearance of air side complimentary transfer coaches between T2 and T1 at CSIA, the 545 am Jet flight was a staple of the NRI holiday crowd, as well as business travelers. Jet isn’t flying to BDQ anymore. (Well, it’s barely flying…)
Granted, Indigo doesn’t have codeshare arrangements (yet?) with SkyTeam (my loyalty base), but I rarely book a through ticket to BDQ, preferring to book to a gateway (DEL or BOM) and then a separate domestic ticket to BDQ.