October 7, 2025

Big news is flying in from India's skies! Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has shared exciting details about the mega airport projects at Navi Mumbai and Jewar (Noida International Airport). Speaking to BusinessLine, Naidu said these airports will be game-changers for the aviation sector and connectivity across India. Imagine this: Mumbai will become India's very first megacity to use a twin-airport system! The Navi Mumbai Airport (NMIA) will start by handling 20 million passengers per year and can grow up to a whopping 90 million. Together with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai’s total capacity will soar beyond 155 million passengers annually. Why is this so important? Naidu said, "Aviation growth has been restrained due to capacity constraints in megacities such as Mumbai. The commissioning of NMIA, followed by Jewar, will ease this bottleneck and usher in enhanced connectivity and growth." The mega Navi Mumbai Airport project is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8, 2025. The Jewar airport construction is expected to finish by the end of October 2025, followed by safety and regulatory checks, aiming to start operations by year-end. But that’s not all! The government plans to turbo-charge India's airport landscape to have 350 airports by 2047. Minister Naidu proudly announced how India has already shot up from 74 airports to 163 in just 11 years. The Centre has boldly surpassed its five-year investment goal with ₹96,843 crore spent for airport infrastructure between FY2019-20 to FY2024-25. What’s next? "We are working on a holistic plan to develop the next generation of airports in the country," he said. Airports will be split into 'mega', 'medium', and 'small' categories, each tailored with facilities that passengers really need, while keeping prices affordable. Think of comfy 'Udan Yatri Cafe' spots and the smooth digital experience of DigiYatra becoming common everywhere! "Each airport category will have different technical specifications to keep costs low while maintaining safety as the top priority," added Naidu. Another hot topic is the rise of hub airports. Naidu explained, "The creation of hubs requires strong backend integration with airports in tier-I and tier-II cities. Most airports cannot have direct international connectivity, so the concept of hub airports is very important for India." These hubs will connect domestic and international flights smoothly, backed by strong metro, road, and highway links to other cities. To sum it up, India’s aviation is ready to take off like never before thanks to these mega airports and smart planning. Buckle up for a sky-high journey ahead!

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Tags: Navi mumbai airport, Jewar airport, Aviation growth, India airports, Civil aviation, Airport infrastructure,