The Prime Minister will arrive in Navi Mumbai and begin a walkthrough of the new Navi Mumbai International Airport around 3 PM. Following this, he will formally inaugurate the airport at approximately 3:30 PM and dedicate several projects in Mumbai. The Navi Mumbai airport is expected to commence commercial operations in December. This project represents a public-private partnership between Adani Airport Holdings and the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO). The Navi Mumbai airport is recognized as India’s first fully digital airport, featuring pre-booked vehicle parking, online baggage drop, and automated immigration services, along with an AI-enabled terminal. Spanning 1,160 hectares, it will initially accommodate 20 million passengers with one runway and one terminal.
Once all four terminals and two runways are operational, it will have the capacity to serve up to 155 million passengers annually. The airport, which has been constructed at a cost of ₹19,650 crore, is anticipated to generate over 200,000 jobs across various sectors, including aviation, logistics, IT, hospitality, and real estate. Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air have already announced plans to operate flights to major cities from Navi Mumbai. The airport is projected to handle about 40% international traffic at the start, which could rise to 75% later. In its initial phase, the digital airport will operate for 12 hours a day.
Arun Bansal, CEO of Adani Airports Holdings Ltd, referred to the Navi Mumbai airport as an ‘anxiety-free airport’ due to its digital and automated services. He noted that trials for AI-powered baggage tracking are currently underway in Ahmedabad, and passengers at Navi Mumbai will receive SMS updates about their baggage, such as when their bag is number 20 on the carousel.
