The Navi Mumbai International Airport took a big step toward becoming operational on Sunday with its first commercial flight validation test being carried out successfully. An A320 aircraft from Indigo Airlines successfully touched down at runway 08/26 and was welcomed with a traditional water salute by two crash fire tenders.
The landing was witnessed by senior officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Customs, Immigration, Central Industrial Security Force, City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), India Meteorological Department, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security as well as Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) and other key stakeholders.
“This is a momentous day for Navi Mumbai International Airport. The successful completion of the validation flight is a major milestone, and we are now one step closer to operationalising the airport, prioritising safety at every step. We are grateful to the DGCA and all the agencies involved in making the validation flight trial successful. Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will not only offer world-class aviation facilities, it will also enable the overall development of the region,” said Mr Arun Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Adani Airport Holdings Limited.
The touchdown of a commercial aircraft validates and establishes the synchronised functioning of Instrument Approach Procedures at NMIA (airport code: NMI). The exercise includes technical assessment, landing and take-off manoeuvres, paving the way for the DGCA to validate the data collected from the flight and for NMIA to receive the aerodrome licence, which is essential for operating the airport. NMIA’s established flight procedures will also be published in the Electronic Aeronautical Information Publication.
“Prior to the landing of the validation flight, NMIA successfully conducted the flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), subsequently drafting instrument approach procedures to prepare itself for the arrival of the validation flight,” a release said.
Before this flight validation test, the inaugural landing of an Indian Air Force C-295, a large multi-role tactical airlifter, had taken place on October 11, representing a significant milestone in the development of the greenfield international airport, which is scheduled to be operational early next year.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport Private Limited is a special-purpose vehicle established for the development, construction, operation, and maintenance of the greenfield international airport project in Navi Mumbai on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. NMIAL is part of Adani Airports Holdings Limited and is owned by Mumbai International Airport Limited (74% shareholding) and CIDCO (26% shareholding).
The project will be developed in multiple phases and, once complete, the airport will have the capacity to manage over 90 million passengers per annum. In the initial phase, NMIAL is implementing a passenger capacity of 20 million passengers cargo handling capacity of 8 lakh tonnes a year.
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