Mumbai: The Indian Air Force (IAF) Friday operated the inaugural flight to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA)—an Airbus C-295 aircraft that touched down on the newly minted runway 26 at 12.15 pm.
A water cannon salute greeted the aircraft on the tarmac, followed by a flypast by a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet, during the inaugural event attended by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, as well as MLAs and other dignitaries.
“It is a very historic and proud moment for us. This airport will help reduce stress and air traffic from Mumbai airport. We are ready for flight as well as fight (for elections),” Shinde told reporters.
Commercial operations at the airport, second in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), are expected to begin by March 2025.
In the first phase, the airport will have a single operational runway and a terminal building (T1) with a capacity of 2 crore passengers each year. This terminal, spread over 2 lakh sq km, is being designed as per Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Standards certification—a green building certification programme adopted worldwide.
#Live | 11-10-2024 📍आंतरराष्ट्रीय विमानतळ, नवी मुंबई
📹 वायुदलाच्या वतीने आयोजित वायुदल विमान लँडिंग शुभारंभ सोहळा – लाईव्ह
https://t.co/757qDsWhas
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 11, 2024
Once complete, the Navi Mumbai International Airport will have a set of two parallel runways of 3,700 metres and full-length taxiways, spaced 1,550 metres apart.
After a string of missed deadlines, foundation stone for the airport was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2018. The previous year, a hillock at the site was flattened to reclaim marsh land and divert a river.
Construction began in 2021, following three years of land acquisition during which about 1,160 hectares was acquired across 12 villages.
The greenfield airport is being developed by the Adani Group at an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore and will be managed jointly by Adani Group and Maharashtra government-owned City and Industrial Development Corporation Of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO).
Earlier this week, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol had said that the airport will be named after the late Dinkar Balu Patil, who was an activist and former Member of Parliament.
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