IndiGo, Akasa Air to begin flights from Navi Mumbai airport on Dec 25

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IndiGo on Saturday announced that it will start flight operations from the newly-constructed Navi Mumbai International Airport from December 25 with domestic air services to 10 cities.

IndiGo also said it plans to expand its operations, progressively from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's second airport by adding direct routes to more destinations in due course.

Spread across 1,160 hectares, the airport will have one terminal and one runway in the first phase with an annual passenger handling capacity of 20 million. The first phase of the airport has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore.

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

IndiGo said it will connect the future-ready airport to ten cities across India including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Cochin, and Mangalore, starting December 25.

Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is designed to complement the existing Mumbai International Airport and cater to the growing demand for air travel from India's financial capital, the airline said.

Strategically located, NMIA is expected to play a pivotal role in enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic development in western India.

Gurugram-based IndiGo operates over 2,300 daily flights to more than 130 destinations, including 90 domestic airports.

The airline had a fleet size of 409 aircraft, with 362 in operations and 47 on ground, as on November 14, as per aircraft fleet tracking website, Planespotter.net.  Akasa Air also said it is will commence operations from the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), in a staggered manner, starting December 25.

Connecting directly with four Indian cities, Akasa Air will operate its maiden flight between Delhi and NMIA on December 25 which will be followed by services to Goa, Kochi and Ahmedabad in subsequent days.

The airline said it will progressively ramp up operations from the second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, scaling up to 300 domestic and 50 international weekly departures over a period of time.

As part of its broader network strategy, Akasa said it is also set to ramp up to 10 parking bases by the end of FY2027, with a focused international expansion into key Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian markets.

"For Akasa Air, NMIA strengthens our strategic presence in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and western India, allowing us to optimise capacity deployment and capture new demand pools across," said Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air.

On October 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated phase one of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The airport is built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore.