India’s IndiGo to fly first from Adani’s new Navi Mumbai Airport

Dubai: India’s biggest carrier by market share, IndiGo, has been named the first carrier to commence commercial flight operations from the newly developed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).

Built by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, the collaboration between IndiGo and Adani Airports is a significant step in boosting India’s growing role in the global aviation sector. IndiGo will begin operations at NMIA with over 18 daily departures and 36 air traffic movements (ATMs), connecting to more than 15 cities.

The airline has ambitious plans to scale up these operations significantly. By the beginning of November 2025, IndiGo aims to operate 79 daily departures (158 ATMs), including 14 international flights. This expansion is expected to continue, doubling to 140 daily departures (280 ATMs) with 30 international departures by November 2026.

Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said, “The new flights from the brand-new NMIA will elevate our customers' travel experience while enjoying affordable, on-time, hassle-free services on our unparalleled network.”

In its initial phase, Navi Mumbai International Airport will be able to handle 20 million passengers and 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo annually. This capacity is projected to increase to 90 million passengers and 3.2 million metric tonnes of cargo per year upon completion.

Mumbai’s current main hub, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, has a passenger handling capacity of approximately 50 million passengers annually. In the financial year 2024–25, the airport handled the highest number of passengers in its history, over 55.1 million passengers, surpassing its maximum capacity of 50 million passengers per year.

The new passenger terminal is scheduled to open next month.

The launch of NMIA will create a dual-airport system for the financial capital of the country, enabling the de-congestion of Mumbai airport and enhancing the overall passenger experience

Arun Bansal, CEO of AAHL, said, “Together, we are poised to transform the travel experience for millions of passengers, providing them with both convenience and enhanced travel options. Our collaboration is set to strengthen NMIA’s role as an aviation gateway for the region and travellers nationally and internationally.”

With its fleet of 400+ aircraft, the airline operates around 2200+ daily flights, connecting 90+ domestic and 40+ international destinations. It inducted 58 aircraft in 2024 and welcomed over 118 million customers in the 2024-25 financial year.

IndiGo now flies over 280 times a week to five cities in the UAE from 20 Indian cities.

The airline has been on a network expansion spree since the start of this year. All these expansions also follow IndiGo’s recent announcement of new services from India to Manchester and Amsterdam Schiphol, scheduled to commence in July 2025.

These routes are part of the airline’s ambition to connect the Indian market with key European destinations. IndiGo will fly the Norse Atlantic Airways’ aircraft on these longer-haul routes as an interim solution, eventually replacing them with its fleet of Airbus A350-900s.