Navi Mumbai Airport Dress Rehearsal Before First Flight On Christmas Day
The most visible element of ORAT is the series of live operational trials, often described as the airport’s full-dress rehearsals.
With five days to go before the first flight takes off from Navi Mumbai International Airport, officials are preparing to commence operations.
A globally recognised readiness programme — Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) — is ensuring that India’s newest greenfield airport opens safely, smoothly and with confidence from day one.
The NMIA will connect cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Goa and Kochi. In the first month, NMIA will operate for 12 hours — between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. — handling 23 scheduled daily departures.
Airport's Full Dress Rehearsal
The most visible element of ORAT is the series of live operational trials, often described as the airport’s full-dress rehearsals.
During these trials, NMIA has simulated real passenger journeys using staff and volunteers acting as travellers. With mock boarding passes and baggage, teams test check-in counters, security screening, boarding gates, baggage handling systems and emergency responses at near-peak loads.
By the time NMIA opens for commercial operations on Christmas Day, ORAT ensures that:
The terminal, runway and core systems are fully operational and tested.
Staff across all agencies are trained, aligned and confident.
Coordination between airlines, security forces, air traffic control and ground services is seamless.
Passenger-facing systems—from check-in to baggage delivery—work reliably under live conditions.
Operational risks and surprises are minimised, even during peak movements.
First Airlines To Operate From NMIA
The first airlines to operate from NMIA will be IndiGo, Air India Express and Akasa Air.
The first flight to land at the airport will be IndiGo 6E460 from Bengaluru; it is scheduled to touch down at 8 am on Dec. 25. Shortly after, IndiGo 6E882 will depart for Hyderabad at 8:40 am, marking the first outbound service from the new airport.
Indigo airlines will initially connect Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Kochi, and Mangalore to Navi Mumbai. IndiGo plans to progressively expand its operations from NMI, increasing daily flights as the airport scales up operations.
"The maiden Akasa flight from Delhi to Navi Mumbai will land at NMI on 25th December 2025, marking a historic milestone. With this, Akasa Air becomes one of the first airlines to commence operations from NMIA," the airline said in a statement.
"Get ready to enjoy the Akasa experience from Navi Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Delhi, Goa and Kochi. Here's to new beginnings from this exciting new gateway," the budget carrier added.
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In the initial phase of the new airport’s operations, Air India Express, will operate 20 daily departures or 40 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) from and to NMIA, connecting 15 Indian cities.
The Air India Group intends to scale up to 55 daily departures (110 ATMs) by mid-2026, including up to 5 daily international flights from NMIA.
By Winter 2026, Air India group aims to further expand its operations to 60 daily departures (120 ATMs) from NMI, seamlessly connecting passengers to key domestic and international destinations.
India's Most Digitally Advanced Airport
The Navi Mumbai International Airport is a huge step forward in adoption of digital technology for air travel.
NMIA is one of India's most advanced airports digitally and is designed as India's first fully digital airport leveraging advanced tech like facial recognition (DigiYatra), AI-driven automation, and advanced baggage tracking for seamless, touch-free travel from check-in to boarding with a dedicated mobile app (Aviio) for integrated passenger services.
