Navi Mumbai International Airport To Begin Ticket Bookings After November 15; First Flight On December 25
Navi Mumbai International Airport To Begin Ticket Bookings After November 15; First Flight On December 25
The three-airline launch phase will connect NMIA to major metros as Maharashtra’s biggest greenfield airport prepares for its first commercial operations.
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is set for a major takeoff phase, with ticket bookings expected to open after November 15 and the first commercial flight scheduled for December 25. The INR 19,650-crore project, inaugurated on October 8, is now in its final operational checks as airlines prepare to begin services from India’s most ambitious greenfield aviation hub.
According to officials, three airlines IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air will be the first to operate from the airport in Panvel. The three-month domestic-only launch window will include high-frequency services to major cities.
IndiGo, the first airline to confirm operations, plans 36 domestic flights daily, connecting 15 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The airline will scale up gradually to 158 total daily flights, including 14 international services from NMIA.
Air India Express will operate 20 daily flights, strengthening its domestic network with routes to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Goa, Kolkata and Kerala.
Akasa Air will begin with 100 weekly domestic flights, eventually scaling to 300 domestic and 50 international flights by winter 2026. Eight to ten of its initial flights are expected to be international.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has now taken charge of airport security, clearing a critical step toward passenger operations. Once fully operational, NMIA will have three passenger terminals and two parallel runways, with a planned handling capacity of 90 million passengers annually, making it one of the largest airports in Asia.
For passengers, booking timelines will follow standard procedure domestic tickets available roughly 30 days in advance, and international bookings dependent on visa clearances and airline schedules.
With major airlines, peak-season timing and high metro connectivity, NMIA’s opening is expected to significantly decongest Mumbai’s existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and reshape western India’s aviation landscape.
