The Navi Mumbai International Airport in Mumbai has completed a key exercise, marking its readiness to begin commercial operations from December 25. The Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) exercise is a key readiness indicator for an airport to begin operations.
"As we prepare for flights on December 25, our ORAT Team successfully completed our first-ever full-scale integrated passenger trial with hundreds of simulated travellers. From check-in with IndiGo, Akasa, and Air India Express to security, boarding, and baggage reclaim-every step was tested to perfection. A huge thank you to our "first passengers," CISF, L&T, our airline partners, and the entire NMIAL team for making this milestone possible," the airport said in a statement.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), ORAT bridges the gap between construction readiness and operational readiness. Its purpose is to ensure that facilities, systems, and equipment are fully operational and that staff are trained and capable of functioning in the new environment.
What makes ORAT critical is the complexity of airport operations. With numerous systems and stakeholders working together, even minor issues can have significant repercussions. ORAT ensures that all components--baggage handling, security, passenger flow, airside and landside operations, and more--are fully integrated and function smoothly, IATA says.
The IATA code for Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is NMI while the same for Mumbai's existing airport is BOM. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code for the NMIA airport is VANM.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport will begin operations with three airlines running flights from the airport. Indigo, Akasa, and Air India Express will be the first airlines to operate from the airport.
The first flight to land at the airport will be IndiGo 6E460 from Bengaluru; it is scheduled to touch down at 8 am on December 25. Shortly after, IndiGo 6E882 will depart for Hyderabad at 8:40 am, marking the first outbound service from the new airport. In the first month, NMIA will operate for 12 hours - between 8 am and 8 pm - handling 23 scheduled daily departures.
The commencement of operations at the NMIA is a key moment in India's aviation history, as Mumbai will become the first city in India to operate two airports simultaneously, marking its entry into the league of global cities like London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, and others.
The existing Mumbai airport is among the busiest single-runway airports in the world. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) achieved a new operational milestone on November 21 with 1,036 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) recorded in 24 hours, surpassing the previous benchmark of 1,032 ATMs set on November 11, 2023.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport will provide scope for growth for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and allow for expansion of air travel from Mumbai. It is set to become one of the busiest and most significant aviation hubs in India.
The airport has been constructed and will be operated by NMIAL, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a subsidiary of Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL) holding the majority stake of 74 percent, and the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO), a Government of Maharashtra undertaking, with the remaining 26 percent. AAHL is a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship incubator of the Adani Group. In the initial phase, NMIA will have the capacity to manage 20 MPPA and 0.5 million metric tonnes of cargo annually.
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