Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai International Airport achieved a major milestone on Friday with the successful trial landing of an Indian Air Force C-295 aircraft. This marked the first aircraft landing at the site, accompanied by a flypast of a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet.
The trial landing took place around 12:15 pm in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and other key dignitaries, including civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and Members of Parliament and the Legislative Assembly.
The C-295 aircraft landed on the newly completed 3,700-metre runway, marking a critical development in the airport’s construction. Officials noted that 75% of the terminal building is already completed.
According to a project spokesperson, the airport is expected to be operational for domestic flights by March 2025, with international flights to begin five to six months later.
Spanning 1,200 hectares, the state-of-the-art airport will feature four terminals and two runways. Once fully operational, it will accommodate 90 million passengers annually, offer parking for 350 aircraft, and handle 2.6 million tonnes of cargo. In its initial phase, Terminal 1 will have a capacity for 20 million passengers and 0.8 million tonnes of cargo handling.
