Navi Mumbai Airport Gets Its First Flight Landing Five Months Before Operations Begin

The Navi Mumbai International Airport will be operational by March next year, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, after the first flight touched down at the facility on Friday.

An Indian Air Force operated Airbus C295 transport carrier became the first aircraft to land at the upcoming airport, with wheels down at Southern runway 26 at 12:14 p.m. To commemorate the event, a water cannon salute was performed in honor of the aircraft’s landing at the international airport.

On the event CM Eknath Shinde said, NMIAL will be India's largest airport with 90 million passenger capacity by 2032, and it will have two runways with 4 terminals. The airport will be multimodal with connectivity with Metro, rail and road.

Developed by the Adani Group, the new airport is projected to commence commercial operations in early 2025. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol previously indicated that the airport is on track to officially open its doors by March 2025.

Jeet Adani, director of Adani group's airports business, said this marks the the dawn of a new era in Indian aviation. "A historic moment for Navi Mumbai as we celebrate the first landing on the new airport with the Indian Air Force’s C-295!" he wrote in a post on X.

During a recent site visit held in July, the Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Mohol reviewed the ongoing construction and progress of the facility.

Mohol expressed confidence in the timeline, stating, going by the progress of the work, the airport will be operational in March next year. It will enhance connectivity with neighboring Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Kalyan, and western Maharashtra."

With international standards in place, the Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to handle an annual footfall of nearly 20 million passengers, further boosting travel and commerce in the region.