Navi Mumbai Airport Secures Aerodrome License From DGCA Ahead Of Inauguration

Navi Mumbai International Airport has secured an Aerodrome Licence for public use from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, as per a statement on Tuesday. The licence authorises the airport to be used as a regular place of landing and departure for aircraft, marking significant progress towards its operational readiness.

"Navi Mumbai International Airport marks a significant milestone with the grant of its Aerodrome Licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The licence, awarded after meeting stringent safety and regulatory requirements, is an essential prerequisite for commencing operations," operator Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd. said in a statement.

This development comes ahead of the airport's inauguration, which is planned during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on Oct. 8-9, according to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport is near Ulwe and Panvel. It will be a twin-airport model akin to Dubai’s DXB–DWC, London’s Heathrow–Gatwick, and New York’s JFK–Newark pairs.

The greenfield airport in Navi Mumbai International is being built in five phases, with the launch phase expected to accommodate 20 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and handle 0.5 million metric tons (MMT) of cargo, as per a release. Upon full completion, NMIA will have the capacity to serve 90 MPPA and handle 3.2 MMT of cargo annually.

Air India group recently said it will commence commercial flights from the NMIA with its low-cost arm, Air India Express, operating 20 daily departures to over 15 cities in the first phase of operations. This will be scaled up to 55 daily departures, including five international, by mid-2026, the Tata Group-controlled airline had said in a statement.

The NMIA–CSMIA pairing positions Mumbai alongside the world’s most sophisticated multi-airport systems. Data shows that Dubai International (DXB) already accommodates more than 90 million passengers annually, with Al Maktoum International being scaled to eventually exceed 120 million. London’s network of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton manages over 180 million passengers, while New York distributes about 130 million across JFK, Newark and LaGuardia.