Navi Mumbai Airport news: The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is poised for a significant expansion, as it plans to connect 46 domestic destinations across India from April 2026. The move is being seen as an initiative to transform regional connectivity and ease air traffic congestion on Mumbai’s existing airport infrastructure. 

Notably, the operations began at the greenfield airport on Christmas Day 2025, after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in October 2025. It has now unveiled its first summer schedule running from March 29 to October 24, 2026. 

These airlines to scale up operations

As per an official statement, leading Indian carriers including IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India Express will enhance their services from NMIA. With the move, the weekly air traffic movements are set to rise to 1,092, translating into an average of 156 flight movements per day. Alongside this, the daily departures, which stood at just 22 flights during the airport’s launch phase, are projected to spike to 78 by April 2026, marking a significant increase in operational capacity within a short span. 

Navi Mumbai Airport news: 30 new domestic routes on the cards

The summer schedule has introduced 30 new domestic routes, connecting NMIA to a diverse range of commercial, tourism and religious destinations. Among the busiest routes, Delhi will lead with nine daily departures, followed by Goa (7), Bengaluru (6) and Cochin (5). Other prominent cities linked to NMIA include Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Indore and Varanasi. Additionally, the airport will offer connectivity to emerging and regional destinations such as Bagdogra, Agra, Dehradun, Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Ayodhya, among others. 

Expansion likely to strengthen links between Tier-1, Tier-2 cities

Officials aware of the development said the expansion is expected to step up links between Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, to cater to rising passenger demand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which is India’s largest economic hub. Experts in the aviation sector believe the enhanced network will reduce congestion at Mumbai’s existing airport while ramping up travel convenience for passengers. 

NMIA spans over 1,160 hectares 

NMIA, spread over 1,160 hectares, is designed to handle up to 90 million passengers annually upon fully completion. It has been developed by Adani Airports Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, and has progressed rapidly from construction to phased commercial operations.

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