The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is expected to start operations in May, as its operator Adani Airport Holdings prepares to file for necessary permits with the aviation regulator next month.
On Tuesday, officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) held a stakeholders’ meet with officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) as well as executives of Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) and City Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (Cidco).
This was the second meeting of the DGCA and the stakeholders for the required permits.
The Navi Mumbai airport is being built by a joint venture between AAHL and Cidco.
The greenfield airport, which will be later designed to have a capacity of 90 million passengers a year – making it the second-largest in the country – was originally expected to start operations in December 2024.
“The likely date that the airport will be opened is May 15. In the first week of March, on 5th or 6th, the aerodrome licence application will be placed by AAHL before us for approval,” a DGCA official told FE.
An aerodrome licence is an official certification confirming that an airport meets the necessary safety, operational and infrastructural requirements to conduct air transport operations.
Two emails sent to AAHL seeking comments remained unanswered till the time of going to the press.
“We are satisfied with what was presented before us. But BCAS raised some issues concerning security. They had certain questions to which the airport operator said it will get back with a proper plan,” the official said.
The inauguration date of the Navi Mumbai airport has already been pushed back thrice. After missing the December deadline, senior executives of Adani Group deferred it to March and then to April.
It is important to streamline operations at NMIA since it has to bear the passenger load of T1 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, which is slated to be dismantled and undergo a 3-4 year redevelopment phase. CSMIA is also run by Adani Group.
NMIA saw flight validation tests involving technical assessments, landings and takeoffs, testing of air traffic control systems and handling procedures of small and large aircraft. In December 2024, an IndiGo A320 became the first commercial aircraft to successfully mark a touchdown at NMIA.
Following the completion of all phases, NMIA would be able to handle 90 million passengers and 2.6 million tonne of cargo per annum by 2031-32. The first phase will see the initial capacity set at 20 million passengers. At full capacity, Navi Mumbai airport will have four passenger terminals and two parallel runways.
The Mumbai international airport has a capacity to handle 55 million passengers per year.