Navi Mumbai airport to begin commercial flight operations, 15 departures scheduled on Day 1

Navi Mumbai International Airport will commence its operations on December 25.

The Adani Group-promoted Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will is all set to commence its commercial flight operations from today, with the first flight from Bengaluru scheduled to land at the airport at around 8 am.

First conceived in 1997 by Maharashtra's city planning agency, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the airport in 2018.

The airport was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on October 8 this year.

At the foundation-laying ceremony, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the "first flight from Navi Mumbai International Airport will take off in December 2019".

Since 2021, Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), has led the development, construction, and operational readiness of the greenfield airport, progressing it from accelerated construction to phased commercial operations within a compressed time frame.

Now, finally, the airport, inspired by India's national flower, the lotus, the terminal architecture integrated cultural identity, contemporary design and sustainability features, is set for operations after nearly eight years, which also includes two years of the pandemic.

The development is expected to reduce congestion at the existing Mumbai International Airport, besides significantly boosting capacity in the MMR.

On the first day, IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air and Star Air will operate domestic services, connecting the new facility to nine destinations across India, the private airport operator said on Wednesday.

The airport will handle 15 scheduled departures on the first day, it said, adding that during the initial phase, the facility will operate for 12 hours -- between 8 am and 8 pm, with up to 24 scheduled daily departures to 13 destinations and the capability to manage up to 10 aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) per hour, it added.

The first phase of the five-phased airport has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore.

Spread across 1,160 hectares, the airport will have one terminal and one runway in the first phase, with an annual passenger handling capacity of 20 million.

By the time all five phases of the airport are completed, it will be catering to 90 million passengers annually, along with dedicated cargo terminals and multimodal connectivity.

The entire project is being developed in multiple phases under a special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), in which the Adani Group has a 74 per cent stake, and the remaining 26 per cent is owned by CIDCO.

From February next year, operations are planned to progressively scale up to round-the-clock services, the airport operator said.

The opening adds a critical new gateway for a region that has faced sustained congestion for over a decade, it said, adding that planned as part of a distributed aviation framework, NMIA supports Mumbai's transition to a multi-airport system aimed at improving capacity, operational resilience and long-term scalability.

Passenger services from day one will be supported by Digi Yatra-enabled contactless processing at designated touchpoints, along with trained terminal staff across kerbside, check-in, security and boarding areas, the private airport operator said.

Retail and food and beverage offerings have been curated with a focus on affordability and local relevance.

With operations set to begin tomorrow, NMIA is expected to strengthen Mumbai's role as a global gateway and support long-term economic growth through expanded aviation capacity, the airport operator stated.