Navi Mumbai International Airport takes off with 1st flights
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is finally open for business!
Thursday morning saw its very first IndiGo flight land from Bengaluru, greeted with a water-cannon salute, and soon after, another IndiGo plane took off for Hyderabad.
On day one, NMIA connected nine destinations through four airlines—IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and Star Air—with 15 departures lined up.
What's cool about NMIA?
Right now, the airport runs from 8am to 8pm and can handle up to 24 daily departures to 13 destinations.
From February 2026, operations are planned to progressively scale up to round-the-clock services.
The terminal's lotus-inspired design by Zaha Hadid Architects isn't just for looks—it's packed with eco-friendly features like passive cooling and storage for sustainable aviation fuel.
Why does this matter?
NMIA is a massive project: The first phase was built at ₹19,650 crore, and the airport could eventually serve up to 90 million passengers every year.
Owned mostly by Adani Group (with CIDCO as partner), it's aiming for green vibes too—think solar power, electric busses, an Automated People Mover inside the airport, and even a future Water Taxi link.
If you're flying out of Mumbai soon or just love new infrastructure done right, this is big news!