The Navi Mumbai International Airport on Thursday began commercial flight operations, marking a significant milestone for India’s civil aviation sector and adding substantial air travel capacity for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) became operational with its first commercial arrival — an IndiGo flight from Bengaluru — which landed at 8 am. The aircraft was welcomed with a ceremonial water cannon salute, a traditional aviation gesture to mark NMIA’s first commercial touchdown and departure, the airport operator said in a statement.
Following the inaugural arrival, the airport recorded its first departure when IndiGo flight 6E882 took off for Hyderabad at 08:40 am, completing NMIA’s first arrival and departure cycle.
On the opening day, domestic services are being operated by IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air and Star Air, connecting the new airport to nine destinations across the country.
According to the operator, the airport is handling 15 scheduled departures on the first day. During the initial phase, NMIA will function for 12 hours — from 8 am to 8 pm — with up to 24 scheduled daily departures to 13 destinations. The facility is equipped to manage up to 10 aircraft movements, including arrivals and departures, per hour.
The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 this year.
The first phase of the five-phase project was constructed at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore. Once all five phases are completed, the airport is expected to cater to 90 million passengers annually and will include dedicated cargo terminals as well as multimodal connectivity.
The project is being developed in stages through a special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), in which the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake, while the remaining 26 per cent is owned by CIDCO.
From February next year, airport operations are planned to gradually expand to round-the-clock services.