Representative image of a plane.
Credit: iStock Photo
Navi Mumbai/Raigad: In a step closer to commissioning of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), an A320 aircraft from Indigo Airlines successfully touched down on the runway on Sunday.
The NMIA is expected to be inaugurated in mid-April 2025.
The first commercial flight validation test at NMIA’s Runway 08/26 was successful.
On October 11, 2024, an Indian Air Force C-295, a large multi-role tactical airlifter, made the inaugural landing.
The back-to-back test landings represent a significant milestone in the development of the greenfield international airport, which is scheduled to be operational in early 2025.
The NMIA in the Navi Mumbai-Raigad, a Greenfield airport project, will serve as the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), to be operated alongside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) of Mumbai.
The aircraft was welcomed with the traditional water salute by two Crash Fire Tenders (CFT) of NMIA.
This pivotal moment, witnessed by senior officials from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO), Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Customs, Immigration, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS), India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other stakeholders were present on the occasion.
The touchdown of a commercial aircraft validates and establishes the synchronised functioning of Instrument Approach Procedures at NMIA. The exercise includes technical assessment, landing and take-off manoeuvres, paving the way for the DGCA to validate the data collected from the flight and for NMIA to receive the aerodrome license, which is essential to operate the airport.
Post the successful landing, NMIA’s established flight procedures will be published in the Electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (eAIP) for international promulgation.
Prior to the landing of the validation flight, NMIA successfully conducted the flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), subsequently drafting instrument approach procedures to prepare itself for the arrival of the validation flight.
“This is a momentous day for Navi Mumbai International Airport. The successful completion of the validation flight is a major milestone, and we are now one step closer to operationalising the airport, prioritising safety at every step. We are grateful to the DGCA and all the agencies involved in making the validation flight trial successful. NMIA will not only offer world-class aviation facilities, it will also enable the overall development of the region,” said Adani Airport Holdings Ltd CEO Arun Bansal.
“It takes about 1 month for the terminal to be open to the public after inauguration... All major airlines will be operating here,” said NMIA CEO B V J K Sharma.