Navi Mumbai International Airport starts commercial flight operations

The Navi Mumbai International Airport commenced commercial flight operations on Thursday (December 25, 2025), marking a key milestone for India’s civil aviation sector while expanding air travel capacity for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) began operations, with the first flight from Bengaluru, operated by IndiGo, touching down the runway at 8 a.m..

The aircraft was accorded a ceremonial water cannon salute on arrival, a time-honoured aviation tradition marking NMIA’s first commercial touchdown and departure, the airport operator said in a statement.

The inaugural arrival was followed by the airport’s first departure, an IndiGo flight 6E882 to Hyderabad at 08:40 a.m., completing NMIA’s inaugural arrival and departure cycle, it said.

In pictures | Inside Navi Mumbai International Airport

The phase 1 of Navi Mumbai International Airport is India’s largest Greenfield airport project, developed under a Public–Private Partnership (PPP).
Photo: Special Arrangement

The airport is said to be well connected as it is 14 km from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Sea Port, 22 km from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), 32 km from Thane, and 40 km from Bhiwandi. Photo: Special Arrangement

The architecture inspired by lotus, has 12 sculptural feature columns — anchors that rise like unfurling petals, 17 mega columns — unseen pillars carrying the weight of the lotus roof canopies. Photo: Special Arrangement

In line with sustainable practices, the airport will feature dedicated storage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), solar power generation of approximately 47 MW, and EV bus services for public connectivity across the city. NMIA will also be the first airport in the country to be connected by Water Taxi. Photo: Special Arrangement

Among its unique offerings is an Automated People Mover (APM), a transit system planned to connect all four passenger terminals for smooth inter-terminal transfers, as well as a landside APM linking the city-side infrastructure.
Photo: Special Arrangement

As the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, NMIA will work in tandem with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to ease congestion and elevate Mumbai into the league of global multi-airport systems.
Photo: Special Arrangement

The airport, designed to be among the most efficient in the world with 1160 Ha area, will eventually handle 90 million passengers annually (MPPA) and 3.25 million metric tonnes of cargo.
Photo: Special Arrangement

The netted structures of the lotus pillars, designed by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects, will provide passive cooling inside the airport.
Photo: Special Arrangement

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On the first day, IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air and Star Air will operate domestic services, connecting the new facility to nine destinations across India.

The airport will handle 15 scheduled departures on the first day, it said, adding that during the initial phase, the facility will operate for 12 hours — between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with up to 24 scheduled daily departures to 13 destinations and the capability to manage up to 10 aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) per hour, it added.

The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 this year.

The first phase of the five-phased airport was built at ₹19,650 crore.

By the time all five phases of the airport are completed, it will be catering to 90 million passengers annually, along with dedicated cargo terminals and multimodal connectivity.

The entire project is being developed in multiple phases under a special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), in which the Adani Group has a 74% stake, and the remaining 26% is owned by CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation Of Maharashtra Ltd).

From February next year, operations are planned to progressively scale up to round-the-clock services.