Runway of the Navi Mumbai International Airport.
Credit: NMIAL
Mumbai: Ahead of the commissioning of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted it the aerodrome licence.
The NMIA, located at Ulwe in Raigad district, is the second airport in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) after the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai.
“The aerodrome licence, awarded after meeting stringent safety and regulatory requirements, is an essential prerequisite for commencing operations. The achievement represents a key step in the NMIA’s progress towards becoming fully operational. With the aerodrome licence now in place, the NMIA moves closer to its vision of enhancing regional and international connectivity and establishing a modern gateway that will link Navi Mumbai with the rest of the world,” an NMIA spokesperson said on Tuesday.
It may be mentioned that Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air have already announced plans to begin commercial operations from the new airport.
With the commissioning of the NMIA, Mumbai is all set for a twin-airport model akin to Dubai’s DXB–DWC, London’s Heathrow–Gatwick, and New York’s JFK–Newark pairs.
The greenfield airport, developed as a key aviation hub for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is set to be inaugurated by Modi on October 8.
Over phases, the NMIA’s development and construction of the airport is being overseen by Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited (NMIAL), which was established as a special purpose vehicle by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO).
The distance between the CSMIA and NMIA is around 40 km, however, connectivity issues are being addressed.
A seamless transfer model, supported by multimodal transport — road, metro, suburban rail, and water links — will eventually connect the NMIA and the CSMIA, ensuring that India’s busiest business city operates with the same infrastructure sophistication as premier world capitals.
The twin-airport strategy mirrors global precedents: distributing traffic between two facilities to decongest bottlenecks, de-risk operations and provide passengers with greater airline and route choices.