Navi Mumbai airport is scheduled to open for commercial launch in March 2025, but Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) is facing challenges when it comes to coax major airlines to relocate operations from Mumbai. AAHL, India’s largest airport operator, aims to relocate at least one prominent carrier to Navi Mumbai, even offering prime time slots.
Insights from AAHL’s ‘Airports Day’ Presentation
Unveiled in October 2022, AAHL in its presentation titled ‘Airports Day’ proposed shifting one major airline from Mumbai to alleviate congestion at the city’s airport, which is currently served by IndiGo as well as Air India. Both the airlines had expressed reluctance to make the move.
Pieter Elbers, CEO, Indigo said in an event in Hyderabad, said that careful planning for coordination between these two ports is important.
As compared to the Mumbai’s airport, AAHL is grappling with persuading airlines to move to Navi Mumbai airport which boasts modern facilities. The challenges are due to limited transportation options between the two cities.
Challenges in Convincing Airlines to Relocate to Navi Mumbai Airport
The Navi Mumbai airport aims to commence operations by the end of FY25 and has been setup at an estimated cost of Rs 19,600 crore and a Phase 1 capacity of 20 million passengers.
With an annual capacity of 55 million passengers, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) said will continue to contend with congestion. Operators of these congested airports are eager to encourage the airlines in order to relocate operations to nearby airports to manage burgeoning passenger numbers.
With plans for rail and metro connectivity still in progress, Navi Mumbai airport will initially be accessible only by road. Despite the Adani group being optimistic about timely approvals, multiple clearances are still pending, despite the fact that the construction has been going on since August 2021.
As per the sources, 78% of the first of the two 3,700-meter runways had been completed by mid-January. The remainder is expected to complete before this year’s end.
