"The time has come to put some restrictions on private services (non-scheduled services) at the Mumbai airport as it is reaching to its capacity," Patel told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He said if such a move was not made, the airport would not be in a position to offer new flight services. In such a scenario, it (the airport) will have to do with the number of flights it operates today.
Mumbai Airport, which is being modernised and developed by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), now handles 630 arrivals and departures a day.
Though the government has approved the construction of a second airport in Navi Mumbai, the project has been caught in a tug of war between the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MEoE) and the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The Environment Ministry headed by Jairam Ramesh has taken the position that the proposed airport site poses a threat to ecology while holding back the environment clearance to the project.
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