Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) — India’s newest Greenfield airport – will begin commercial operations from December 25 (Christmas Day) with 23 scheduled daily departures, it was announced on Tuesday. In the first month, NMIA will operate for 12 hours — between 08:00 hours and 20:00 hours — handling 23 scheduled daily departures. During this period, the airport will manage up to 10 flight movements per hour.
The inaugural flight to arrive at NMIA will be IndiGo 6E460 from Bengaluru, scheduled to touchdown at 8:00 AM. Shortly after, IndiGo 6E882 will depart for Hyderabad at 8:40 AM, marking the first outbound service from the new airport. During the initial launch period, passengers will benefit from services operated by IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air, connecting Mumbai to 16 major domestic destinations, according to the airport.
Starting February 2026, the airport will transition to round-the-clock operations, expanding to 34 daily departures to meet the increasing needs of the MMR. NMIA is conducting comprehensive Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) trials in collaboration with all stakeholders, including security agencies and airline partners. Further strengthening its preparedness, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was formally inducted at NMIA on October 29, 2025, with deployment across key airport functions.
The inauguration of NMIA by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 set the stage for a carefully phased operational rollout, prioritising passenger safety, reliability, and comfort from day one. The launch will add capacity to the growing aviation needs of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
