Navi Mumbai International Airport welcomes its first commercial aircraft: likely take-off by mid-2025
ADVERTISEMENT
The much-awaited Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) may start commercial flight operations within a few months as an A320 aircraft from Indigo Airlines successfully touched down today at the airport runway in Panvel, as part of the initial commercial flight validation test.
Prior to the landing of the validation flight, NMIA successfully conducted the flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), subsequently drafting instrument approach procedures to prepare itself for the arrival of the validation flight.
On 11 October 2024, the inaugural landing of an Indian Air Force C-295, a large multi-role tactical airlifter aircraft had landed at the Greenfield International Airport.
NMIA, scheduled in four phases and the first phase planned to take off by April 2025, is spread on an area of 1160 acres in and around Panvel. Once complete, the airport will have the capacity to manage over 90 million passengers per annum (MPPA). In the initial phase, NMIAL is implementing a passenger capacity of 20 MPPA and 800,000 tons per annum of cargo handling capacity. The second airport in Mumbai may incur an expenditure of about ₹16,700 crore.
July 2025
In the world’s youngest nation—where over 65% of the population is under 35—India’s future is already being shaped by those bold enough to lead it. From boardrooms to breakout ideas, a new generation of business leaders is rewriting the rules. This year's Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 celebrates these changemakers—icons in the making like Akash Ambani, Kaviya Kalanithi Maran, Shashwat Goenka, Parth Jindal, Aman Mehta, and Devansh Jain—who are not just carrying forward legacies but boldly reimagining them for a new era. Alongside them are first-generation disruptors like Sagar Daryani, scaling Wow! Momo with a vision to take ₹100 momos to 5,000 cities, and Palak Shah, turning the Banarasi weave into a global fashion story with Ekaya Banaras. These are the entrepreneurs turning ambition into scale. And even beyond traditional industry, the entrepreneurial wave is pulling in creative forces—Ranveer Singh, for instance, is shaking up wellness and nutrition with Bold Care and SuperYou, proving that passion, backed by purpose, is the new blueprint for building brands.
Currently, a 3.70-kilometre runway is ready, and the second runway is under construction. Construction of the airport was started in 2018, though the project was in the planning phase for more than 20 years.
''The successful completion of the validation flight is a major milestone, and we are now one step closer to operationalising the airport, prioritising safety at every step,'' said Arun Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Adani Airport Holdings.
NMIAL is part of Adani Airports Holdings Limited and is owned by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) (74% shareholding) and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO) (26% shareholding).
Fortune India is now on WhatsApp! Get the latest updates from the world of business and economy delivered straight to your phone. Subscribe now.