New international airport in Navi Mumbai begins operations, first flight gets water salute. Watch

The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) opened on Thursday, enhancing aviation in Maharashtra and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

After more than two decades in the making, the greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) kickstarted commercial flight operations on Thursday, December 25, marking a major milestone in Maharashtra’s aviation and infrastructure landscape.

The new international airport in Navi Mumbai will manage 0.5 million tonnes of cargo and 20 million passengers annually, with flights from IndiGo, Akasa Air, and others. (ANI)

The first ever arriving aircraft was honoured with a traditional ceremonial water cannon salute. The first flight to touch down was IndiGo’s 6E460 from Bengaluru, which arrived at 8 am and marked the airport’s inaugural arrival, reported news agency ANI. Shortly after, IndiGo flight 6E882 departed for Hyderabad at 8:40 am, completing NMIA’s first operational cycle with both an arrival and a departure.

Watch how the airport received it's first arriving flight:

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani greeted passengers at the new Navi Mumbai International Airport after its first commercial service landed.

The airport’s launch is set to ease long-standing congestion at Mumbai’s existing international airport and formally usher the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) into a multi-airport system.

Implemented by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), NMIA will see around 30 air traffic movements, including arrivals and departures, on its first day of operations.

Domestic flights by IndiGo, Akasa Air, Air India Express and Star Air will connect the new airport to multiple Indian cities from day one, with IndiGo’s Bengaluru-Navi Mumbai service scheduled to be the first arrival at 8 am and a Hyderabad-bound flight marking the first departure at 8:40 am, according to PTI news agency.

The airport, first conceived by CIDCO in 1997, received a major push after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid its foundation stone in 2018 and later inaugurated the facility on October 8 this year.

Since 2021, development and operational readiness have been led by Adani Airports Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, under the special purpose vehicle Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL).

Built at a cost of about ₹19,650 crore in its first phase, the airport currently has one runway and one terminal, with the capacity to handle 20 million passengers annually.

Once all five phases are completed, NMIA is designed to handle up to 90 million passengers per year along with dedicated cargo terminals and advanced logistics infrastructure.

The airport will initially operate for 12 hours a day, between 8 am and 8 pm, with 15 scheduled departures on the first day and the ability to manage up to 10 aircraft movements per hour, the report added.

Round-the-clock operations are planned to be rolled out progressively from February next year, as per the airport operator.

Architecturally, the terminal draws inspiration from India’s national flower, the lotus, blending cultural symbolism with sustainability and contemporary design.

The project is also positioned as a catalyst for regional economic growth, expected to benefit Navi Mumbai and neighbouring regions such as Thane, Panvel, Raigad, Pune and the Konkan belt.

Strategic multimodal connectivity, including access via the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, national highways, suburban rail and metro corridors, is being highlighted as a key strength of the airport.

On the eve of the launch, NMIA hosted a large-scale drone show featuring 1,515 drones, lighting up the night sky with formations such as lotus blooms, aircraft silhouettes and the airport logo. The drone display was designed to showcase the airport’s identity and vision.

Spread across more than 1,160 hectares, NMIA is the second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is being positioned as one of India’s future major aviation hubs. In its initial phase, the airport will also be capable of handling up to 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo annually, according to a report by news agency ANI.

Passenger services from day one will include Digi Yatra-enabled contactless processing and trained terminal staff across check-in, security and boarding areas, the private airport operator said.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)