NAVI MUMBAI FROM MAY!! New Navi Mumbai Airport Attracts Low-cost Airlines
At present, the biggest challenge is high-speed transportation facilities between airports
India’s low-cost carriers will lead the shift to the new $2.1 billion Navi Mumbai Airport, the second airport for the commercial capital developed by Gautam Adani, as it targets a May opening.
India’s largest airline IndiGo will shift part of its operations to the new airport, according to people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified as the information is private, says a Gulf News report.
Tata Group’s low-cost carrier Air India Express and smaller rivals SpiceJet and Akasa are also in discussions to eventually relocate all of their operations, the people added. Air India’s full-service carrier will continue to operate from the existing airport for now but will shift more of its domestic operations to Navi Mumbai, about 22 miles southeast of Mumbai’s congested existing aerodrome, the people said.
The new airport is a landmark infrastructure project for the sprawling metropolis of 21 million people aimed at reducing aviation bottlenecks and creating an international transit hub similar to Dubai, London or Singapore, says the report.
Besides, Maharashtra authorities plan to build an aero city to boost non-aviation sources of revenue from around the airport.
Local authorities plan to build an “aero city” around the new airport to boost non-aviation sources of revenue.
Both the existing Mumbai airport and the new one on the city outskirts are managed by the Adani Group, putting the Indian ports-to-power conglomerate in a strong position as it negotiates with the airlines over moving some of their flights to the new facility.
As of now the airport is facing a primary challenge that there is no high-speed transportation connectivity between the city's two airports, though a metro line is now being planned between the two.
The report further states that the new airport may initially operate one terminal with an annual capacity of 20 million passengers, If demand is strong, it can be ramped up in phases to handle 90 million passengers in stages. "Some airlines have been told to target a shift between April and June for domestic operations with the airport expected to start international flights in August," it says quoting sources.
