🛫 Terminal 1 (Domestic LCCs Only)

Airlines: IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet — domestic departures only.

Status: Operating in reduced form pending the Terminal 1 Redevelopment Programme. The 1A pier was demolished in 2024; full rebuild scheduled to complete by 2028 to a 20 MPPA (million passengers per annum) standard.

🌏 Terminal 2 (International + Full-Service Domestic)

Airlines: All international carriers (Emirates, Qatar, Lufthansa, BA, Singapore, ANA, United, Etihad, Turkish, Air France-KLM, Saudia, Oman Air, Vistara legacy routes), plus Air India and Air India Express domestic.

Vibe: The flagship — a 4-storey 4.4 million sq ft glass-and-steel landmark with hand-finished jali screens that filter the morning sun across the check-in concourse. Worth a slow walk through.

DigiYatra (Domestic Only)

Live at T2 Gate 2 departures. Indian passport holders + select foreign nationals with an Aadhaar/equivalent can register via the DigiYatra app, then walk through entry gate, security, and boarding without showing documents. Saves 15–25 minutes during peak. Foreign visitors with no Aadhaar cannot use it.

FTI-TTP for Foreigners (Rolling Out)

India’s Fast Track Immigration — Trusted Traveller Programme launched at Delhi/Mumbai/Bengaluru in 2024 for select foreign nationals. Pre-enrol online, then use dedicated e-gates on arrival. Currently limited to long-stay visa holders and OCI cardholders — not yet for tourist visas.

CISF Security & The CT Rollout

CT-scanner rollout at T2 is nearly complete in 2026 — newer 3D scanners are now installed in the Business and First Class queues, and on selected economy lanes. Behaviour depends on your specific lane: check the “Laptops Out” signage at the conveyor before unpacking. Where the older X-ray remains, liquids and laptops still come out of the bag. Belt and shoes off for foreign passport queues. Expect 15–35 min depending on the wave.

⭐ Aqua Line (Line 3) Metro — The Game Changer

India’s first fully underground metro corridor. Line 3 runs 33.5 km from Cuffe Parade (South Mumbai) through Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to SEEPZ in Andheri East. Two airport stations: CSMIA T1 and CSMIA T2. Trains every 5–7 min in peak, every 12 min off-peak. Air-conditioned. Crossed 4 crore (40 million) riders by April 2026.

🚕 MIAL Prepaid Taxi (Inside Arrivals)

The official MIAL counter is inside the arrivals hall at both T1 and T2. Pay at the counter, receive a slip with the driver name and vehicle plate, then board the assigned taxi outside. Government-fixed rates, no surge, no negotiation. Cash or card.

📱 Uber, Ola & BluSmart (Rideshare)

All three apps work at BOM with dedicated pickup zones — follow signage to the rideshare bay, not the immediate curb. BluSmart is all-electric and notably cheaper for off-peak airport runs. Surge can spike +50–100% during the 22:00–02:00 international arrival wave.

✨ Adani Lounge — Eastern Wing (T2 International Departures, Level 4, near Gate 45)

If you eat one thing at BOM, eat the vada pav at Jumbo King — Mumbai’s native chain serving the city’s definitive street snack inside the airport. ₹40–60 each. Aaswad at T2 is the second pick: traditional Maharashtrian thali plus more refined renditions of vada pav and pav bhaji. Skip the airport McDonald’s and the Subway — you’re in Mumbai for a few hours, eat what the city is famous for.

Mumbai’s Irani cafés are a vanishing 19th-century tradition — a Parsi-Persian inheritance of bun maska (buttered bread) with chai, kheema pav, and berry pulao. The T2 outpost preserves the flavours in airport form. Bun maska + cutting chai = the most Mumbai breakfast you can have.

For homeward-bound foreign passengers, the safe bets are: chiwda and chakli (Maharashtrian savoury snacks, vacuum-sealed), Alphonso mango pulp in season (April–June), Darjeeling and Assam tea from the T2 Tea Trove counter, and FabIndia handloom scarves. Avoid airside-priced Indian sweets — they’re double Mumbai market rates.

Mumbai monsoon flooding can shut down approach roads to BOM within 90 minutes of a heavy cloudburst — and unlike Delhi, the airport sometimes runs on a single runway because the second one is intersected by a flood-prone area. For June–September flights, build a 3-hour traffic buffer. The Aqua Line is monsoon-immune (it’s underground) and has become the go-to during washouts. Check the flight status app before leaving any hotel south of Bandra.

Less talked about than the monsoon but just as disruptive: Mumbai winter mornings (Nov–Feb) regularly drop below CAT-II visibility thresholds, particularly between 04:00 and 09:00. Long-haul departures to Europe and Singapore that push out before sunrise can sit on the apron for 30–60 minutes waiting for the runway to clear. If you have a tight onward connection at LHR, FRA or SIN, watch the flight tracker the evening before and consider rebooking the connecting leg with a wider buffer.

Navi Mumbai International Airport (IATA: NMI) opened on 25 December 2025 and went 24/7 in February 2026. As of 2026, NMIA handles ~34 daily domestic departures from IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air. It is 35 km southeast of BOM — easy to confuse, expensive to mistake. If your boarding pass says NMI rather than BOM, you are at the wrong airport. There’s no easy taxi connection between the two.

T2 has filtered water dispensers at most washroom blocks airside on Levels 1 and 4. Bring a refillable bottle — the sealed water at the convenience kiosks is ₹100 (~$1.20) for 500 ml, four times the city street price. Tap water in Mumbai is not safe to drink; always use filtered dispensers or sealed bottles.

Jio, Airtel, and Vi kiosks operate inside the T2 arrivals hall. 5G is now the default in Mumbai. A 28-day Tourist Pack with 1.5 GB/day plus unlimited calls runs ₹450–700. Carry a passport copy and a passport-size photo — both are required at activation. The kiosks in arrivals are notably cheaper than the city telecom showrooms.

Mumbai is widely regarded as the safest major Indian city for women travellers, and the airport reflects that. The Aqua Line metro and MIAL prepaid taxis are safe to use after midnight — both are CCTV-monitored end-to-end, and the metro has dedicated women-only carriages on most trains. If you need help, every terminal arrivals hall has a dedicated women’s assistance desk near the exit (look for the pink CISF lanyard). For a late arrival, choose MIAL prepaid or scheduled BluSmart over flagging an unbooked street taxi.

India does not currently operate a tourist VAT/GST refund scheme — purchases inside the country are not refundable on departure (unlike Europe and Thailand). For currency exchange, airport rates are 4–6% worse than Bandra/Colaba forex shops. Withdraw INR from a city ATM during the visit and exchange the residual at a Thomas Cook or Mustafa branch in town, not at BOM. The currency counters in arrivals are for emergencies only.