Trial flight lands at Navi Mumbai airport

New Delhi: The Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) successfully conducted the trial landing of an aircraft with the touchdown of an Airbus C-295 plane on Friday.

The Indian Air Force transport carrier C-295 landed at the Southern runway 26 of the airport at 12.14 pm, and was accorded the ceremonial water cannon salute, according to the airport operator.

This was followed by a flypast by a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet.

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The inaugural landing is not just a symbolic gesture but a critical milestone in the airport's journey from construction to full-scale operations, NMIAL said in a statement.

The event was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and senior officials from NMIAL and Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, among others.

The successful touchdown of the IAF C-295 marks an essential phase where the newly-built runway, taxiways, air traffic control systems and handling procedures are put to test to ensure that the airport meets all safety, regulatory and operational requirements, it said.

It allows engineers, aviation authorities and airport operators to evaluate the performance and readiness of key infrastructure and signifies that the airport is on track to complete its final stages of development, paving the way for phased commercial operations set to begin in early 2025, the statement said.

NMIAL is a special purpose vehicle for the execution of this Rs 18,000-crore greenfield airport project with Adani Group holding 74 per cent equity in the SPV while City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) the remaining 26 per cent.

"As Adani Airport Holdings Ltd's (AAHL) first greenfield airport, NMIAL represents years of planning, investment and hard work. We are grateful to the Government of Maharashtra, the regulatory bodies including CIDCO and Airports Authority of India and all the other stakeholders who have come together to make this project possible," the statement quoted Director of AAHL Jeet Adani as saying.

The chief minister said the Navi Mumbai airport will be a high capacity one and among the big aviation facilities in the country. Calling the facility "a big gift to people", Shinde said once it is commissioned, the congestion at the busy Mumbai airport will ease considerably.

"We are making efforts to start the commercial operations from the airport even before the stated timeline of March 2025, which will handle 9-crore people per annum," he said.

Due to construction of the 21.8-km 6-lane sea bridge Atal Setu, the upcoming airport has become close to both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, he pointed out.

The iconic sea bridge, inaugurated in January this year, starts at Sewri in Navi Mumbai and concludes at Chirle village near Nhava Sheva in Raigad district.

The inaugural landing of the IAF C-295 represents a significant milestone in the Adani Group's development of the greenfield international airport, which started in August 2021, during the pandemic and is scheduled to be operational in early 2025, the airport operator said.

This landing demonstrates NMIAL's capacity, preparedness and readiness for joint operations between civilian and military authorities for a variety of potential missions, including disaster response and emergency landings, it said.

The airport is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, with a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals and advanced air traffic control systems.

The entire project is split into five phases, of which the first phase will have a capacity to handle 2 crore passengers annually. The first phase is expected to be commissioned by early next year.

Once all the five phases of the project are completed, the airport will have four terminals and two runways.

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