Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai International Airport might begin operations in April, a few days or weeks past its current deadline of the end of March, said sources.
Media reports quoted an Adani Enterprises (AEL) executive as saying that the airport would be commissioned only in the first quarter of FY 2025-26, essentially in the April to June period.
Navi Mumbai airport sources pointed out that the March 31 deadline was such that even if they miss it by a day, the airport inauguration would technically fall into the next financial year. “Even if it does get delayed, it will be a minor one and the airport will be commissioned in April,” said a source.
An Adani Airport Holdings spokesperson said: “There is no delay as of now in the opening of the Navi Mumbai airport as communicated to the state and central authorities.”
In the past decade, the Navi Mumbai airport project missed many deadlines. For instance, the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the airport would be commissioned before December 2019. The latest deadline of March 31 was announced early this year when former civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the airport site.
Then in Oct, chief minister Ekanth Shinde said the Navi Mumbai airport was expected to be ready before March. Shinde was at the airport site for the inaugural landing of an IAF flight on the Navi Mumbai runway.
Aviation sources said meeting the March-end deadline for the start of commercial flight operations would be a tough call. While the runway is almost ready for commercial flights, work on the construction of the terminal building is currently ongoing. When it is commissioned, the Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd will launch operations with Phase 1 and 2 combined. The 2 lakh sq m Terminal 1 will have a capacity of handling two crore passengers per annum, double that of the original plan.
In its initial phase of operation, the airport will have a single 3.7 km runway and a full-length dual parallel taxiway. NMIA will be an integrated domestic-cum-international airport. It will have swing gates to allow aircraft to fly either domestic or international from the same gate. Airports Authority of India, which provides air navigation services, is planning “joint air space operations” for Mumbai and NMIA.