Mumbai's second airport, NMIA, set for October 8-9 inauguration; details

The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is set to be inaugurated during on October 8-9, marking a major milestone for India's aviation sector. Located near Ulwe and Panvel, the greenfield project has been designed as a twin-airport model, similar to international hubs like Dubai’s DXB-DWC and New York’s JFK-Newark.

Phase one of the airport will cater to 20 million passengers annually, with future expansions targeting 90 million passengers and 3.2 million metric tons of cargo per year.

Air India Express is set to begin operations with 20 daily departures, expanding to 55 by mid-2026, including international flights. Key features of NMIA include two parallel runways, India’s largest general aviation terminal, and state-of-the-art baggage handling systems, promising swift passenger processing.

The airport will be integrated with major infrastructure projects, including the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and new Metro lines, which will enhance connectivity despite its distance from Mumbai’s city centre.

While NMIA solves Mumbai’s acute capacity crisis, challenges remain. Its location, 40km from the city centre, means travel times can exceed two hours for some, with seamless metro connectivity still years away. Experts also note that regulatory hurdles, like repeated security checks for transfers, must be addressed for Mumbai to truly compete as a global aviation hub like Dubai or Singapore.