Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, confirmed that its dedicated inflight catering facility — operated by aviation catering specialist TajSATS — is fully operational and prepared to support growing airline demand ahead of the Winter 2026-27 schedule, which runs from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. The flight kitchen, located within the airport precinct, currently serves more than 40 departing flights daily and can produce up to 7,500 meals a day.

Capacity and Infrastructure

The facility is built to scale: as airline movements and passenger volumes grow, output can be doubled to 15,000 meals per day. It features dedicated production infrastructure, refrigeration systems, and operational processes engineered to respond dynamically to shifts in airline schedules and demand cycles. Its position within the airport precinct is designed specifically to minimise turnaround time for meal delivery to departing aircraft.

Subhash Murikenchery, Chief Airport Officer at Navi Mumbai International Airport, underscored the strategic rationale. 'As NMIA expands its airline network, it is important that our supporting infrastructure grows with it,' he said. 'The TajSATS flight kitchen gives airlines the flexibility to meet rising demand and enhances the culinary experience for passengers,' he added.

Support for International Carriers

A notable operational detail reveals the scale of the opportunity: approximately 40 per cent of international carriers operating from India rely on back catering from their own flight kitchens. NMIA's catering infrastructure has been developed to directly address this requirement, offering airlines a local meal-uplift alternative closer to their point of departure — potentially reducing logistics complexity and cost.

The kitchen accommodates a broad range of dietary needs, including special meals, allergen-sensitive menus, and halal meals, making it viable for both domestic and international carriers. This comes amid growing demand for personalised inflight dining as airlines compete for premium passengers on long-haul routes.

Food Safety Compliance

The facility complies with internationally recognised food safety and quality standards, including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), ISO 22000, and the regulations of India's Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). These certifications are a prerequisite for serving international airlines and form a baseline for quality assurance in regulated aviation catering.

TajSATS: Four Decades of Aviation Catering

TajSATS has operated in the aviation catering sector for more than four decades and also runs the flight kitchen at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, giving it a dual presence across the Mumbai aviation ecosystem. The company's established track record adds credibility to NMIA's growing support services pitch to airlines evaluating the new airport as a base.

With NMIA ramping up airline connectivity ahead of the winter travel surge, the operational readiness of its catering infrastructure will be closely watched as a signal of the airport's broader readiness to handle full-scale commercial operations.