Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will be inaugurated on 8 October in a ceremony led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The PM laid the foundation stone at the airport back in 2018, bringing full-circle an extensive and frequently delayed construction process. NMIA is connected to the island city of Mumbai by a sea bridge, the largest in India, and has been designed to handle 90 million passengers by 2032.
But what will the airport look like, how will it operate, and what kind of challenges does it face as it opens?
In 2024, India’s air traffic exceeded 2019 levels by 10.9%, the country’s fourth consecutive year of double-digit traffic growth. NMIA aims to support the future demand for air travel with four tech-first, modern terminals on its 1,100 hectare site.
With two runways planned, NMIA has been designed to complement Mumbai’s other airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). CSMIA currently handles 55 million passengers a year. Navi Mumbai International will ease congestion at CSMIA and function as a double-hub for connections with CSMIA, similar to Newark-JFK in New York or Heathrow-Gatwick in London.
The airport’s future-ready design
Terminal 1 will open first, and will handle 20 million passengers annually once fully operational. The building has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), the internationally-renowned firm behind iconic buildings such as the London Aquatics Centre and the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre in Baku. The lotus motif was the basis of the terminal’s design, which features intricate rows of columns and skylights that pay homage to India’s rich architectural history.
But it’s not only the architecture that’s cutting-edge: NMIA is designed to be a truly modern airport that boasts the latest technology. Digital check-in systems and advanced air traffic control are just some of the features that will put NMIA on the map as one of APAC’s most state-of-the-art airports. When it opens, spokespeople claim it will boast the world’s fastest baggage claim system, another initiative that enhances the airport’s passenger-first approach.
Infrastructure problems hamper NMIA’s offering
Several airlines have already signed up to operate flights from Navi Mumbai International, including IndiGo, Asaka Airlines, and Air India. However, in the short term, the airport faces several limitations on its plans to provide a world-class passenger experience.
While the terminal itself strives to provide a world-class passenger experience, travellers might struggle to arrive in good time. Situated 40 kilometres (24 miles) from central Mumbai, it can take as long as three hours to reach the airport from some suburbs.
Using NMIA and CSMIA as a double-hub for connections seems especially impractical. A 20-minute metro link between the two airports is planned, but not yet completed. NMIA is offering electric shuttle buses, but this last-mile connectivity problem represents a significant inconvenience for passengers.
In the future, NMIA could handle all Mumbai’s international traffic exclusively, with CSMIA downgraded to a regional hub. But this will be dependent on it successfully managing the huge numbers of projected passengers and scaling its surrounding infrastructure accordingly.
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