India Travel: UAE Accounts For Nearly One-Third Of Mumbai Airport's Arrivals

The UAE accounted for nearly one-third - 30 per cent - of arrivals at Mumbai airport in the first eight months of this year, reflecting strong connectivity between the UAE and India's financial capital.

According to Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), out of over 5 million arrivals at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), the UAE accounted for the largest source market, contributing 1.5 million arrival passengers between January 2025 and August 2025.

Almost all the UAE and Indian carriers - such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air India, Air India Express, Indigo, and others - operate multiple direct weekly flights between the two countries, especially from Dubai International Airport (DXB), Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah International Airport. CSMIA has direct connectivity to 55 international destinations, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, among other Gulf countries.

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CSMIA's growing connectivity is also reflected in the seven new international routes added between April 2024 and 2025, linking Mumbai with the UAE's Al Fujairah, Tashkent, Krabi, Almaty, Amman, Manchester, and Tbilisi.

England and Thailand follow with 0.38 million and 0.32 million international arriving passengers, respectively, during the first eight months.

Mumbai will have its second airport - Navi Mumbai International Airport - on September 30, which will further increase traffic between the UAE and India. In the first phase, it will have a capacity of 20 million passengers annually.

Over the past three years, international arrivals at the Mumbai airport have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent.

Between January 2025 and August 2025, arrivals rose steadily to over 5 million, compared with 4.8 million during the same period in 2024 and 4.1 million in 2023.

Between August 2024 and August 2025, the airport handled 8.24 million international arrival passengers. January 2025 emerged as a milestone month, with 0.69 million international arrival passengers, marking a 415 percent increase compared to January 2022, when travel recovery post-Covid had just begun.

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