AirAsia India has made the choice to change from terminal two at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, to the domestical terminal one. This will mean passengers who are traveling within India will no longer have to transfer through the international terminal to take a standard domestic flight on AirAsia India.

What are the details?

Mumbai is a popular destination for airlines. So much so that AirAsia India has been unable to get departure gates from the main terminal one at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport since they launched back in June 2014. They have, instead, had to operate their domestic service from the international terminal two.

This had several disadvantages, such as forcing passengers who are transferring from other domestic carriers to a different terminal to take an AirAsia India flight, as well as passing through different security checks that are normally reserved for international flights. And for those not in the know, the two terminals are far apart and require a bus to transfer between them.

This is set to change however this October, when the airline begins operating from terminal one and can line up with all the other domestic low-cost-carriers.

"We are pleased to announce that Mumbai will now be our fourth hub in India, and alongside that AirAsia India will shift its operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1B from October 15," said Sunil Bhaskaran, managing director, and chief executive, AirAsia India to News18.

AirAsia A320 on apron
AirAsia India flies across the sub-continent. Photo: AirAsia

What is next for AirAsia India?

But moving to a better terminal for passengers is just the beginning, with the move allowing AirAsia India to make Mumbai it's new fourth hub in the country.

"Mumbai will become AirAsia India's fourth hub in the country after Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata," AirAsia India said in a press statement back in May "AirAsia India will now connect Mumbai to Kochi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Indore, New Delhi and Bengaluru.".

The airline currently flies to 21 destinations across the subcontinent with 23 Airbus A320-200 aircraft. They don't specifically have any aircraft on order at the moment, but likely that some of the vast 353 Airbus A321neos that are on order to their parent organization will find their way into their fleet.

AirAsia A320
An AirAsia A320 aircraft at home base of Kuala Lumpur, Photo: Jyi1693 via Wikimedia

They are a subsidiary airline of the AirAsia group, a vast network of low-cost-carriers who's combined network flies from the United States, to Japan, to Australia and more. AirAsia X, the international arm of the airline, recently took ownership of a brand new Airbus A330neo and is operating the cheapest flatbeds flying in the sky today.

Needless to say, this move to the domestic terminal sets up AirAsia India for long-haul success in India.

What do you think of this news? Will it be a useful upgrade for current AirAsia India services? Let us know in the comments.