Navi Mumbai International Airport Achieves Milestone with First Flight Validation Test
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Navi Mumbai, Dec 29 (NationPress) In anticipation of its commercial debut in early 2025, the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) performed its first commercial flight validation test on Sunday. An A320 aircraft from Indigo Airlines successfully landed on the runway.
The flight test on runway 08/26 was overseen by senior officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Customs, Immigration, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), along with Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) and other essential stakeholders.
“This is a significant milestone for Navi Mumbai International Airport. The successful validation flight brings us closer to operational readiness, with a strong emphasis on safety at every phase. We extend our gratitude to the DGCA and all agencies that contributed to the successful validation flight trial. NMIA is set to provide world-class aviation services and will foster regional development,” stated Arun Bansal, Chief Executive Officer of Adani Airport Holdings Limited.
The successful landing of a commercial aircraft confirms and verifies the coordinated functioning of Instrument Approach Procedures at NMIA. This exercise encompasses technical assessments, landing, and take-off maneuvers, which will allow the DGCA to validate the collected flight data and for NMIA to obtain the essential aerodrome license needed for airport operations. Following the successful landing, NMIA's established flight procedures will be published in the Electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (eAIP) for international dissemination, as detailed in a release from the Navi Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (NMIAL), a dedicated entity for the development, construction, operation, and maintenance of the greenfield international airport project in Navi Mumbai.
NMIAL is part of Adani Airports Holdings Limited and is predominantly owned by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) with a 74% shareholding and CIDCO with 26%. CIDCO, a Government of Maharashtra initiative, serves as the Concessioning Authority for the project.
Prior to the validation flight, NMIA successfully conducted a flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), which involved drafting instrument approach procedures to prepare for the validation flight's arrival.
On October 11, the first landing of an Indian Air Force C-295, a large multi-role tactical airlifter, was executed, marking a key advancement in the development of the Greenfield International Airport. The airport spans approximately 1,160 hectares of land, located about 35 km from Mumbai Airport.
As per CIDCO, the total cost of NMIA is estimated at Rs 16,700 crore. In August, the Airport Authority of India completed testing the Instrument Landing System (ILS) to calibrate the flight path, ensuring the airport’s operational readiness.
NMIAL has indicated that the project will be developed in several phases; once finished, the airport is expected to accommodate over 90 million passengers annually (MPPA). In its initial phase, NMIAL aims for a passenger capacity of 20 MPPA and an annual cargo handling capacity of 800,000 tons.
