Navi Mumbai International Airport Now Operational: Check Flights, Routes and Timings

Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai International Airport officially began commercial operations on Thursday, marking a major expansion of air travel capacity for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The airport’s first scheduled arrival and departure took place this morning. 

The inaugural arrival was IndiGo flight 6E460 from Bengaluru, which touched down at 8:00 am and was welcomed with a ceremonial water cannon salute. Shortly after, the airport saw its first departure as IndiGo flight 6E882 to Hyderabad took off at 8:40 am, completing NMIA’s first commercial arrival and departure cycle.

First-day operations and Flight schedule

On launch day, around 30 domestic flights are scheduled, evenly split between arrivals and departures. The airport will handle 15 departures on the first day. During the initial phase, operations will run for 12 hours daily from 8 am to 8 pm, with the capacity to manage up to 10 aircraft movements per hour.

In its opening phase, NMIA is connected to nine domestic destinations, including Hyderabad, Goa and Bengaluru. As operations stabilise, the airport is expected to scale up from 24 scheduled daily departures to 13 destinations.

Airlines and routes

Four airlines have commenced domestic services from NMIA:

1. IndiGo, expected to be the dominant operator across most routes
2. Akasa Air, operating flights to Ahmedabad, Goa, Kochi and Delhi
3. Air India Express, flying to Bengaluru and Delhi
4. Star Air, operating services to Goa

Senior officials, including Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, and Jeet Adani, Director (Airports), were present to welcome passengers on the inaugural flight and hand over boarding passes to departing travellers.

How to reach Navi Mumbai international airport

NMIA is strategically located to serve Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and surrounding regions. Connectivity options include road routes from Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Dombivli, Bhiwandi, the Eastern and Western Suburbs, Central Mumbai and South Mumbai, as well as access for travellers coming from Pune, Lonavala, Alibag, Pen and the Konkan region.

Reaching NMIA from Pune or Lonavala:

From Central Mumbai to NMIA

From South Mumbai to NMIA 

From Thane, Airoli, or Ghansoli to NMIA 

From Kalyan, Dombivli, or Bhiwandi to NMIA 

Drone show marks operational launch

On the eve of the commencement of operations, a 1,515-drone show lit up the sky to mark the airport’s operational launch. The drones formed striking aerial visuals, including 3D lotus blooms, the airport logo, green airport themes, aircraft formations and motifs celebrating the rise of India, reflecting NMIA’s design philosophy and ambition.

NMIA: A milestone project

NMIA was inaugurated earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8. The first phase of the five-phase project has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore.

The airport is being developed and operated by Navi Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (NMIAL), a public-private partnership between Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a subsidiary of Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL), which holds a 74 per cent stake, and CIDCO, which holds the remaining 26 per cent.

Capacity, design and sustainability

Spread over 1,160 hectares, NMIA is designed to handle 90 million passengers per annum once fully completed. It will feature two parallel runways, modern terminal buildings and advanced cargo facilities. In the initial phase, the airport has the capacity to manage 20 million passengers annually and 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo.

The airport has been developed as a greenfield project with a strong focus on sustainability, incorporating renewable energy and green building practices. Its fluid, futuristic architecture is inspired by the lotus, India’s national flower.

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