October 06, 2025: India’s financial capital is finally gearing up to end its long-standing airport congestion woes, as the Adani Group prepares to commence operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport by December. The new facility is expected to ease the severe capacity crunch that has burdened airlines operating from Mumbai for years.
In its initial phase, the airport will operate for 12 hours daily, handling around 12 aircraft movements per hour. Within three months, operations are expected to expand to 30 aircraft movements per hour, significantly boosting the city’s aviation capacity. “It will be a great boost to the entire infrastructure of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The current airport has hit its limit of handling 55 million passengers per annum, which is even short of the current demand of 75 million. That demand will be met by the new airport,” said Arun Bansal, Chief Executive Officer at Adani Airports.
Phase 1 of the project will enable the airport to manage up to 20 million passengers annually with one terminal and runway. Given the high demand, capacity is expected to be exhausted by FY27, prompting Phase 2 expansion to 50 million passengers per annum with an additional terminal and runway.
Airlines are welcoming the development. Akasa Air, which has struggled to secure slots at the overburdened Mumbai Airport, plans to operate 100 weekly domestic departures initially, scaling up to 300 domestic and 50+ international departures over time. “Two of the most critical markets have been slot-constrained for quite some time now. So, considering that new spaces are opening up at Delhi and Mumbai, we will see a much greater increase in growth,” said Praveen Iyer, Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air.
Officials added that the airport’s cargo terminal will also enhance freight operations, offering faster transit and better connectivity to industrial hubs.
Source: The Economic Times
