Navi Mumbai airport set to open on May 15

MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) may be inaugurated on May 15, officials familiar with the development confirmed on Tuesday.

Aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), conducted an assessment of the airport on Tuesday. The on-ground assessment team included Vipin Kumar, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Prakash Nikam, Regional Director of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), officials from Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). The NMIA is managed by NMIAL, a joint venture between AAHL and CIDCO.

A DGCA official said, “We observed the preparedness of NMIA. We have been informed that they will apply for all permits by March 5, and we will process them.”

In December, the regulator had observed some issues in the preparedness of the airport management. The queries arose after the airport conducted its commercial flight validation test on December 29, with an IndiGo A320 aircraft that touched down on runway 08/26.

However, the official said that the assessment on Tuesday revealed that 90 percent of the approach issues had been addressed and resolved by the airport operator. As per regulations, the airport operator will now apply for the aerodrome license.

The second official mentioned above said, “The airport operator will apply for the aerodrome license on February 28, after which the AIP (Aeronautical Information Publication) will be approved by the DGCA by March 5 or 7, and it will be published before April 30.”

An AIP is a set of official documents issued by the DGCA that provides critical information for flight operations. They are designed to give all relevant details that pilots and operators need to safely navigate within a given airspace.

The third official close to the development said that the airport will become operational after the AIP is published. “NMIA will apply for the aerodrome license to begin operations from May 15,” he said.

The new airport will help ease the burden on the city’s congested Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport (CSMIA), which is a single runway airport. Navi Mumbai airport is expected to handle 10-12 million passengers per annum (ppa), with around 9 million domestic and 3 million international passengers. The airport’s Terminal 2 will have a capacity of 30 million ppa and is expected to become operational by the end of 2028.

With Inputs from Yogesh Naik