Mumbai: As the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) commenced its commercial flight operations on Thursday, December 25, the first IndiGo flight from Bengaluru touched down at 8 am, marking a historic
milestone for Maharashtra’s aviation infrastructure. The inaugural arrival was greeted with a ceremonial water cannon salute on the runway, symbolising the formal start of passenger operations at the newly inaugurated airport.
A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by user Sanjog captured the IndiGo aircraft approaching and landing at NMIA, becoming the first commercial flight to operate at the airport. The airport was inaugurated earlier on October 8 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a long and complex development journey spanning nearly three decades.
Earlier in the morning, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani arrived at the Navi Mumbai International Airport as preparations were completed for the launch of operations. NMIA has been developed under a public-private partnership between CIDCO and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd and is expected to majorly ease congestion at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
To mark the operational launch, a spectacular drone show featuring 1,515 drones was organised on the eve of the commencement of services. The synchronised drones lit up the sky with striking aerial formations, including 3D lotus blooms, the airport logo, green airport visuals, a plane flying over Mumbai, “Rise of India” imagery and lotus-inspired design interiors, reflecting the vision and scale of the project.
Details On 1st Day Operations
Operations on the first day began at 8 am with the arrival of the IndiGo flight from Bengaluru, while the first departure was scheduled at 8.40 am, with an IndiGo flight heading to Hyderabad. On day one, NMIA is handling 15 arrivals and 15 departures, even though the airport has the technical capability to manage up to 10 air traffic movements per hour.
In the initial phase, the airport operator plans to manage 24 scheduled daily departures between 8 am and 8 pm, connecting NMIA to 13 domestic destinations. Full round-the-clock operations are expected to begin from February 2026, as services are gradually scaled up.
Designed as a future-ready aviation hub, NMIA has a passenger handling capacity of 20 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in its first phase. With planned expansions, the airport’s capacity is projected to increase to 90 million MPPA in the coming years.
4 Airlines To Offer Services On Day 1
Four Indian airlines are operating from NMIA on the first day of commercial services, IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air and Star Air, connecting the airport to nine cities across the country. IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, is operating nine departures on day one, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of total operations, while the other three airlines are operating two departures each.
With its launch coinciding with the Christmas–New Year festive season, the commencement of commercial operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport marks a major step towards strengthening India’s aviation network and transforming the Mumbai Metropolitan Region into a global connectivity hub.
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