Mumbai Airport Announces Six Hour Flight Suspension on May 7 for Crucial Runway Maintenance

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai will temporarily halt all flight operations for six hours on Thursday, May 7, 2026. This scheduled closure is required to conduct vital maintenance work ahead of the annual rainy season.

Both the primary and secondary runways will remain closed to air traffic between 11 am and 5 pm India time. Airport authorities announced on Wednesday that this step is a standard part of their yearly monsoon contingency strategy.

Because no planes will be allowed to take off or land during this six hour window, travelers are urged to verify their flight schedules. Airport officials have advised passengers to monitor their airline apps or visit the official airport website for real time updates. Airlines have also been requested to adjust their flight timings accordingly.

Managing over 1,000 flight movements every day, Mumbai airport is one of the busiest hubs in the region. This high volume of traffic makes timely maintenance crucial for ensuring passenger safety during challenging weather conditions.

These preventive shutdowns take place every year just a few weeks before the southwest monsoon hits the city. Engineers inspect the vast 1,033 acre airside area for any signs of structural wear and tear to ensure smooth operations when the heavy rains arrive. A similar inspection happens after the rainy season ends, around October or November, to fix any degradation caused by the downpours.

Mumbai experiences intense weather between June and September, with annual rainfall frequently crossing 2,500 millimeters. To cope with this, the airport utilizes an innovative rainwater harvesting system on its curved terminal roofs. This setup collects more than 2.6 million liters of water each season, which is filtered and recycled for use in the terminal washrooms.