The airline plans to scale up its operations at NMIA significantly, from 36 air traffic movements (ATMs) daily on the opening day to 79 daily departures (158 ATMs), including 14 international departures by November this year.
IndiGo on Wednesday said it will be the first airline to operate from the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), launching 18 daily flights to 15 cities from the first day of the airport's commercial operations.
The airline plans to scale up its operations at NMIA significantly, from 36 air traffic movements (ATMs) daily on the opening day to 79 daily departures (158 ATMs), including 14 international departures by November this year.
IndiGo said it will operate over 100 daily departures (200 ATMS) by March 2026. By November 2026, the operations will be further built up to 140 daily departures (280 ATMs), including 30 international departures.
Each arrival or departure is counted as one ATM.
NMIA is expected to start commercial flight operations in the next few months.
"IndiGo will be the inaugural airline to operate from NMIA and we couldn't be more pleased to announce this," said Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo.
"This expansion underscores our dedication to catering to the evolving needs of our aspirational travellers," he added.
NMIA is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), a joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. (AAHL) with a 74 per cent stake, and CIDCO, the Maharashtra government's development body, owning the remaining 26 per cent.
AAHL also owns Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which operates the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai.
CSMIA is among the busiest airports globally, handling over 45 million passengers annually. It faces significant congestion with limited scope for expansion due to surrounding urban development.
Due to structural safety concerns, MIAL plans to demolish Terminal 1 (T1) at CSMIA in November 2025 to construct a modern terminal with a slightly increased capacity.
During the reconstruction phase, approximately 5 million passengers will be shifted to Terminal 2 (T2), while the remaining 10 million will be accommodated at NMIA.
However, the demolition plan has faced opposition from stakeholders. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has raised objections to MIAL's proposal to demolish T1 entirely in one go, advocating for a phased demolition approach to minimise disruption.
Additionally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and various airlines have expressed concerns over the potential reduction of take-off and landing slots at CSMIA during the reconstruction period.
They argue that such reductions could disrupt operations and have long-term impacts on the airport's global reputation.
The opening of NMIA is expected to alleviate congestion at CSMIA and establish a dual-airport system for Mumbai, enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic growth.
"We are delighted to announce IndiGo as the first airline partner to commence operations from NMIA," said Arun Bansal, CEO of AAHL.
"Together, we are poised to transform the travel experience for millions of passengers," he added.
In its initial phase, NMIA will handle 20 million passengers and 0.8 million metric tonnes of cargo annually. Once completed, it will accommodate 90 million passengers and 3.2 million tonnes of cargo. NMIA will feature two parallel runways.
CSMIA has two intersecting runways which cannot be operated simultaneously resulting in single runway operations with a peak hour declared capacity of 46 aircraft movement (arrival or departure) in an hour, during high density runway operations.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
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