Mumbai: Air India Group's low-cost arm Air India Express is set to start international flights from Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) to Abu Dhabi on July 15, according to a source. The airline is set to become the first carrier to launch international operations from the greenfield airport.
Bookings for the inaugural flight are likely to open on Saturday, the source told PTI. Other domestic and foreign airlines are also expected to begin international services from the airport in the coming months.
On June 17, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) Chief Executive Officer BVJK Sharma said the airport was preparing to begin international passenger and freight operations from July 15.
"On July 15, we are starting with freighters, and we expect the freighters to ramp up to almost 18 weekly flights. Good news is also that there is movement on the passenger side and hopefully on July 15 international passenger flights will also start," the NMIAL CEO had told reporters on the sidelines of the Brihanmumbai Customs Broker's Association-hosted Logistics Conclave in Mumbai.
Sharma made the announcement after Member (Customs), a senior official in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), reviewed the airport's readiness for international operations on June 16.
The Adani Group-owned Navi Mumbai Airport, in which the Maharashtra government's urban planning and infrastructure development agency Cidco also holds a 26 per cent stake, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year.
It commenced domestic commercial operations on December 25, 2025.The airport operator had earlier planned to begin international services with the start of the airlines' summer schedule, from the last week of March to the last week of October, but postponed the launch due to the West Asia conflict.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport currently handles around 20,000 passengers per day with 150 departures and arrivals. The airport is expecting the daily passenger footfall to surge to 50,000 per day by the year-end, and 380 Air traffic movements (arrivals and departures) per day.