Services start from Navi Mumbai International Airport 

IndiGo, Air India Express begin flights 

Almost 30 years after it was first conceived, the second primary airport of Mumbai, the Navi Mumbai International Airport entered into service on Thursday with inaugural flights by IndiGo and Air India Express.

With the arrival of an IndiGo flight 63 460 from Bengaluru on Thursday morning, flight operations have begun at the Navi Mumbai International Airport, the second commerical services airport in Mumbai, almost three decades after it was conceived.

According to social media posts by Adani Airport Holding, which has developed the airport in collaboration with City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the inaugural arrival was welcomed with the ceremonial water cannon salute.

The first landing at the new airport was followed by its first departure, IndiGo flight 6E 882 which departed for Hyderabad. The airline says it will start services to and from several other airports across the country to NMIA, notably Ahmedabad, Kochi, New Delhi, Mangaluru, Lucknow, Nagpur and Goa. Over the next few days, it will add flights to Jaipur, Chennai, Coimbatore and Vadodara.

“We are pleased to commence operations from Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), the second airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. This enables us to offer even greater travel choices to travelers to/from Mumbai. Initially, IndiGo will be connecting NMIA to over 10 key destinations across the nation. These newly launched services will support the growth of this brand-new aviation gateway and complement Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport,” says Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo. 

Air India Express has also started services at the airport with direct flights to Bengaluru and Delhi. In a press statement, the low-cost carrier, which is a subsidiary of Air India, says that the first Air India Express flight from Navi Mumbai International Airport, AIX 2915, departed for Bengaluru, marking the commencement of the airline’s services from the new airport. 

It adds that following the inaugural Bengaluru service, the airline’s inaugural Delhi flight is scheduled to depart from Navi Mumbai at 14:05 hours and arrive in the national capital at 16:20 hours.

 “The start of flights from Navi Mumbai is a milestone for the city and the region. We are happy to be part of this effort, in enhancing capacity for Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Navi Mumbai is a key pillar of our dual-airport strategy, complementing our services from CSMIA, where we operate direct flights to 11 domestic and three international destinations. Being here from day one reflects our confidence in the potential NMIA has – and of the role this airport will play in getting Mumbai back on a rapid growth trajectory. AIX will scale up its operations going forward, offering guests reliable, value-driven connectivity delivered with the warmth of Indian hospitality, supported by a modern fleet,” says Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express.