First commercial flight lands at NMIA, inauguration planned on April 17

Will enable us to get requisite permissions for operations by March, grand inauguration planned on April 17: NMIA CEO

PANVEL: The first commercial flight, an Indigo Airbus 320, landed successfully at the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Sunday afternoon, taking it a step closer to operationalisation by mid-May. Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) validated the instrument approach procedure and touchdown of the aircraft on NMIA’s southern runway at 1.38pm, paving the way for an aerodrome license clearance in the coming weeks.

The aircraft was welcomed with traditional water salute by two crash fire tenders amidst a picnic-like environment. (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

The flight, which took off from Mumbai airport at 12.32pm, was welcomed with traditional water salute by two crash fire tenders (CFT) amidst a picnic-like environment, with senior officials from the DGCA, AAI, Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), customs and other stakeholders and their families camping at the site.

“The landing today is important for us to get requisite permissions for operations by March. With work progressing well, we have planned a grand inauguration on April 17,” said the chief executive officer of NMIA, BVJK Sharma.

The airport will be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) following the inauguration and it will take a month for security arrangements to be put in place. “So we are confident of starting domestic passenger and cargo operations by mid-May,” said Sharma.

Operations will begin with domestic flights followed by international flights around six months later, said Vijay Singhal, vice-chairman and managing director of City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is developing the airport jointly with Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL) under a private public partnership.

The ₹20,000-crore airport, launched by prime minister Narendra Modi in 2018, will have two parallel runways and two full-length parallel taxiways, catering annually to 90 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of cargo when complete. The first two of five phases of construction, comprising the runway and terminal on the southern side, are nearing completion, said officials.

Sunday’s landing was preceded by the successful landing of an Indian Air Force aircraft on the 3,700-metre runway on October 11. On December 12, the runway’s PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) equipment – a critical component of the aeronautical ground lighting system which assists pilots in maintaining the correct glide slope during landing – was calibrated and validated by AAI’s flight inspection unit.

The landing by a commercial aircraft holds much more significance than that of the IAF aircraft, as NMIA is a civil airport. Unlike during the IAF aircraft landing, no ministers were present during Sunday’s event, reportedly because of the mourning period for former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away on December 26.

“This is an important day for the airport named after our leader DB Patil as it confirms operational readiness,” said Uran MLA Mahesh Baldi. Patil, a leader and activist associated with the Peasants and Workers Party, had played a key role in helping farmers in Navi Mumbai get a fair price when their land was acquired by CIDCO and other government entities.

“The airport will increase the state’s GDP (gross domestic product) by 1% and provide ample job opportunities to people here who gave their land for the project. We have been holding meetings with the authorities towards ensuring this and are confident about it,” said Baldi.

With demand for air travel rising, NMIA is expected to reduce the burden on Mumbai airport, the second busiest airport in the country.