Navi Mumbai's long-awaited airport has missed its March-end deadline, but the second airport in the city will now open on April 17, with commercial flight operations starting in May. The public will gain access around the middle of May, when domestic and cargo flights begin. International flights are expected by July, according to Arun Bansal, CEO of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, who shared the update on Sunday.

Being a greenfield project, the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), built on undeveloped land, will feature modern amenities from the outset, including biometrics and terminal connectivity, Bansal explained.

An IndiGo A320 aircraft took off from Mumbai Airport and conducted technical assessments over Karjat and Pen, including missed approach manoeuvres. The flight landed at NMIA's runway 08-26 at 1:32 pm, marking the first commercial jet landing at the site. Data from this "validation flight" will be submitted to aviation regulators for the aerodrome licence.

Previously, on October 11, an Indian Air Force C-295 aircraft had landed at NMIA's runway.

The phase-1 terminal of the airport has a capacity of 20 million passengers annually (ppa), comparable to airports like Chennai and Kolkata. However, Mumbai Airport handled 52.8 million ppa last fiscal, with Delhi surpassing 73 million ppa. Initially, NMIA expects to accommodate 10-12 million ppa, with 8-9 million domestic passengers and 2-3 million international. By 2026, the capacity will reach 20 million, and by 2028, Terminal 2 will handle 30 million ppa.

Once operational, NMIA will ease the congestion at Mumbai Airport, which only has a single runway. "Around 15 million passengers from the Mumbai region travel to nearby states or other airports," Bansal said.