2 tygodni temu
MUMBAI- TATA Group-owned Air India (AI) is set to operate test flights to and from India’s first multi-nodal airport, Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI) in April 2025.
As per official report, Navi Mumbai Airport is ready to open its gate to the World on April 17, 2025.
Photo: DronemanAir India Navi Mumbai Test Flight
Air India will conduct a test flight in April to validate airport preparedness for widebody international aircraft operations, Bloomberg reported.
IndiGo Airlines (6E) performed the first validation flight using a single-aisle Airbus 320 in December of last year.
India’s low-cost carriers are poised to lead the operational transition to Navi Mumbai Airport, the second commercial airport developed by billionaire Gautam Adani, targeting a May opening. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, will initially shift part of its operations to the new airport, with other carriers closely following suit.
Tata Group’s Air India Express, along with SpiceJet (SG) and Akasa Air (QP), are actively discussing complete operational relocation to the new facility.
Photo: Utkarsh Thakkar (Vimanspotter)Air India’s full-service carrier will maintain operations at the existing airport while progressively transferring domestic operations to Navi Mumbai, located approximately 22 miles southeast of Mumbai’s current congested aerodrome.
The $2.1 billion airport represents a landmark infrastructure project designed to address aviation bottlenecks for Mumbai’s 21 million residents. Local authorities aim to create an international transit hub comparable to Dubai, London, and Singapore, with plans to develop an “aero city” to generate additional non-aviation revenue streams.
The Adani Group’s unique position of managing both existing and new Mumbai airports provides a strategic advantage in negotiating airline relocations.
Photo: Siddh Dhuri | MumbaiPlanesAir India Mumbai Operations
According to the analysis made by the Aviation A2Z analyst, Air India serves 30 domestic destinations from Mumbai and 17 International destinations.
Here’s the list of domestic destinations: Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Vadodara, Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Goa, Goa-Mopa, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram.
Here’s the list of the International destinations served by Air India from Mumbai: Melbourne (will end soon), San Francisco, New York-JFK, New York-EWR, Malè, Colombo, London-Heathrow, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka, Bangkok, Singapore and Mauritius.
We will soon share a detailed analysis report on Air India’s Mumbai operations.
Photo: DronemanNavi Mumbai Airport Challenges
The Navi Mumbai Airport, developed by the Adani Group, faces significant challenges in attracting airlines and passengers due to limited high-speed transportation infrastructure. A metro line connecting the two airports remains years away, potentially impacting the new facility’s operational effectiveness.
Airline executives are currently negotiating preferable time slots and airport fee incentives to make the new location attractive to passengers. These discussions focus on mitigating potential passenger resistance caused by connectivity limitations between the existing and new airport locations.
Photo: DronemanThe airport’s innovative design features a lotus-shaped building reflecting India’s national flower. Initially, the facility will operate a single terminal with an annual capacity of 20 million passengers. Strategic planning allows for potential expansion to accommodate 90 million passengers over the next decade.
Airlines have been advised to target operational shifts between April and June for domestic routes, with international flights anticipated to commence in August. Adani Airports is actively engaging with Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network, to facilitate members’ operational transitions, including Air India.
The project represents a critical test for the Adani conglomerate’s infrastructure capabilities. The group must successfully deliver this high-stakes project while simultaneously addressing ongoing bribery allegations from the US Department of Justice.
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The post Air India to Conduct Test Flight to Navi Mumbai Airport in April 2025 appeared first on Aviation A2Z.
