Navi Mumbai airport to start commercial operations from December 25

NMIA will begin with limited operations, expand in February, and ease the load on Mumbai's main airport

The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will begin commercial operations on December 25 with 23 scheduled daily departures, to be scaled up to 34 from February 2026.

 

In the first month of operations, NMIA will operate for 12 hours starting at 8:00 a.m. The airport will manage up to 10 flight movements per hour, during this period.

 

NMIA was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8.

 

The inaugural flight to arrive at NMIA will be IndiGo flight 6E460 from Bengaluru, scheduled to touchdown at 8:00 a.m., the airport said. IndiGo flight 6E882 will depart for Hyderabad at 8:40 a.m., marking the first outbound service from the new airport. 

   

IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air will begin operating services during the initial launch period at the airport. 

 

“To ensure a seamless start, NMIA is conducting comprehensive Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) trials in collaboration with all stakeholders, including security agencies and airline partners. Further strengthening its preparedness, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was formally inducted at NMIA on 29 October 2025, with deployment across key airport functions,” it said in a statement. 

 

During its first phase of operations, NMIA will have the capacity to handle about 2 crore passengers annually, thereby easing operations in the busy Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai. 

 

The new airport will have a capacity to handle 5 lakh metric tonnes of cargo annually in the initial phase. 

 

NMIA will be the second airport to serve the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). CSMIA handles over 5 crore passengers annually.

 

NMIA is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a subsidiary of Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL), and Maharashtra government undertaking City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO). MIAL holds a majority stake of 74 per cent, while CISCO holds 26 per cent.