Commercial flight operations are set to commence at the Adani Group-promoted Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Thursday, marking a major milestone for India’s financial capital as it formally
transitions towards a multi-airport system after years of congestion at the existing Mumbai International Airport.
The greenfield airport, first conceived in 1997 by Maharashtra’s city planning agency City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), began operations nearly eight years after construction gathered pace, a timeline that also included delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the project in 2018 and later inaugurated the airport on October 8 this year.
On the first day of operations, domestic services will be operated by IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air and Star Air, connecting NMIA to nine destinations across India.
The airport will handle 15 scheduled departures on Thursday.
According to the private airport operator, during the initial phase, the facility will operate for 12 hours, from 8 am to 8 pm, with up to 24 scheduled daily departures to 13 destinations and the capacity to manage up to 10 aircraft movements per hour.
Developed by Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, NMIA is being built in five phases under a special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), in which the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake, while CIDCO owns the remaining 26 per cent.
Since 2021, AAHL has overseen the airport’s development, construction and operational readiness.
The first phase of the project has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore.
Spread across 1,160 hectares, the airport currently has one terminal and one runway, with an annual passenger handling capacity of 20 million.
Once all five phases are completed, NMIA is expected to cater to 90 million passengers annually, along with dedicated cargo terminals and multimodal connectivity.
“The opening adds a critical new gateway for a region that has faced sustained congestion for over a decade,” the airport operator said in a statement, adding that NMIA has been planned as part of a distributed aviation framework to support Mumbai’s long-term capacity expansion and operational resilience.
Passenger services from day one are supported by Digi Yatra-enabled contactless processing at designated touchpoints, along with trained terminal staff across kerbside, check-in, security and boarding areas, the operator said.
Retail and food and beverage offerings at the airport have been curated with a focus on affordability and local relevance.
From February next year, operations are expected to progressively scale up to round-the-clock services, according to the operator.
DRONE SHOW ORGANISED
Ahead of the launch, NMIA organised a drone show on Wednesday evening featuring 1,515 drones.
According to a statement, the drones formed coordinated aerial displays including 3D lotus blooms, lotus-inspired interior designs, the airport logo, visuals highlighting a green airport, an aircraft flying over Mumbai and formations themed around the “rise of India”.
The display, the operator said, transformed the night sky into a canvas of innovation and artistry centred on the airport’s identity.
Inspired by India’s national flower, the lotus, NMIA’s terminal architecture integrates cultural identity with contemporary design and sustainability features. In its initial phase, the airport also has the capacity to handle 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo annually.
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