Navi Mum airport set to witness first trial IAF aircraft landing next month

The aircraft will travel after the commissioning of the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which is part of calibrating the flight path to ensure the operational readiness of the airport. The ILS guides pilots for precise landings using two radio beams that provide horizontal and vertical cues

Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is expected to begin operations in March 2025, is set to witness its first aircraft landing next month as part of a trial run by the Indian Air Force.

Navi Mumbai, India - July 17, 2024: The Navi mumbai airport which is under construction at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar / Hindustan Times) (HT PHOTO)

The aircraft will travel after the commissioning of the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which is part of calibrating the flight path to ensure the operational readiness of the airport. The ILS guides pilots for precise landings using two radio beams that provide horizontal and vertical cues.

Last month, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) conducted ILS testing but could not finish the process due to incessant rains. They plan to resume the testing on August 12, which is expected to cause delays in the flight arrival to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport both on Monday and Tuesday between 11 am and 4 pm. “To alleviate the air traffic congestion over the city, air traffic controllers will delay the flights arriving in Mumbai,” said an AAI official. There will be 18 arrivals instead of the usual 22 to 25 arrivals. This is to facilitate the turboprop aircraft conducting instrument landing system at Navi Mumbai. Departures, however, will not be impacted, added AAI official.

Once the testing is completed, the pathway is calibrated, and the report is submitted, further processes will be carried out, as many tests and permissions are required before making the runway operational.

In 2021, the Adani Group acquired a controlling stake in the airport from the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and currently manages the project and its construction which is estimated to be more than ₹16,700 crore.

Vijay Singhal, managing director of CIDCO told HT, “The work of the airport is being done at a fast pace and one of the runways is nearing completion. Next month, a C-130J, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft and Sukhoi Su-30, a twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force will land here for trials. We will do this before the model code of conduct is enforced.’’

Sources said that the state and centre want to showcase to the people that they have done something for the state before the Maharashtra assembly elections.

Named after the late Dinkar Balu Patil, a leader of the Peasants and Workers Party of India, the D B Patil International Airport in Navi Mumbai will be the third airport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, after India’s first civil aviation airport at Juhu and the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The airport will handle 90 million passengers annually with two runways and four terminals.