Private jet hangars are in big demand as more corporates acquire aircraft for their personal use. Applications for parking slot licences at the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) are three times the available space.
“We have some forecasts from the DGCA about the number of applications for a licence. The number of requests placed (for space) is 3x of what is available,” Arun Bansal, CEO, Adani Airports Holdings (AAHL), said.
Transition from CSMIA to NMIA
AAHL had in April and May asked airlines and operators of private jets to vacate their parking bays at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai to facilitate the construction of a new taxiway. “We wanted to start dismantling (the hangars at CSMIA) from August 1 but we have delayed it to post monsoon,” Bansal said. CSMIA has about 24 parking lots for aircraft under general aviation category, while NMIA will start with 23 hangars and eventually have 89.
The Navi Mumbai airport is expected to become operational towards the end of 2025, possibly mid-November. Thereafter, CSMIA will also be shut for repairs and refurbishment.
Concerns from operators, new GA facilities
After AAHL issued notices far vacating the hangars at CSMIA, the Business Aircraft Operators Association, whose members include Aditya Birla Group, JSW Steel, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro Aviation, and Raymond, had raised concerns about these. They claimed that dropping off passengers at CSMIA before parking the aircraft at NMIA and picking them up later will result in added cost of fuel burn and operational complexity.
Bansal told FE that all the hangars at CSMIA will be demolished and that all private planes would need to be parked in NMIA. Bansal said only passenger pick-ups and drop-offs will be allowed and that overnight parking of such private jets and charters will be prohibited once NMIA becomes fully operational. Though CSMIA and NMIA are separated by 40 km, both the airports will be considered as one for ease of operations and synchronisation. NMIA will have one of the largest general aviation (GA) facilities in the country with a dedicated GA terminal to service VVIP passengers.
AAHL has decided to delay the dismantling of the T1 (domestic) terminal at CSMIA to coincide with the inauguration of the next phase of the Navi Mumbai airport to avoid overcrowding at T2 of CSMIA. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to grant NMIA the aerodrome licence by the end of August.