Navi Mumbai Airport Inauguration Postponed Due to Heavy Rains, Air Connectivity Plans Continue
Mumbai/Navi Mumbai: The inauguration of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), earlier scheduled for September 30, has been postponed by at least two weeks due to heavy rains across Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the Konkan. According to a report in Hindustan Times, officials said loose soil and muck on the approach roads to Ulwe made it unsafe for visitors to access the airport.
The report further noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to inaugurate NMIA along with the final phase of Mumbai Metro 3 from Worli to Cuffe Parade. Both events will now be rescheduled for October. The Prime Minister’s Office informed the Maharashtra government about the change two days ago, according to officials quoted in the report.
Despite the delay, preparations for NMIA’s launch are moving ahead. Air India recently announced plans to start commercial operations from the new airport, joining IndiGo and Akasa Air. Air India Express will operate 20 daily flights to 15 Indian cities in the first phase, scaling up to 55 flights including five international by mid-2026, and reaching 60 daily departures by the winter season of 2026.
IndiGo has already announced 18 daily flights from NMIA at launch, with plans to expand to 140 flights including 30 international within 18 months. Akasa Air too confirmed 15 daily domestic flights initially, followed by over 300 weekly domestic and 50 international services.
NMIA, being built in five phases by Adani Airports under a PPP model, will be the second major airport for the Mumbai region alongside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The first phase is expected to open in late 2025 with a capacity of 20 million passengers and 500,000 metric tonnes of cargo annually. At full scale, it will handle 90 million passengers and 3.2 million metric tonnes of cargo.
Connectivity projects are also gaining momentum. Cidco has invited consultants to review the Detailed Project Report of Mumbai Metro Line 8, which will link CSMIA and NMIA through a 34.9 km high-speed express metro. Estimated to cost ₹20,000 crore, the project aims to carry up to 900,000 passengers daily and could be operational by 2028-29.
Meanwhile, Central Railway is enhancing suburban services on the Nerul/Belapur–Uran corridor, which directly connects to the new airport. Two new stations, Targhar and Gavhan, are nearly complete, with Targhar positioned as a key last-mile connector to NMIA. The number of services on the corridor will increase by 50% from October, easing rush and improving connectivity for airport passengers.
However, it must be noted that no official communication about the postponement has been issued yet by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Government of Maharashtra, or Adani Group, which is developing NMIA.
