Navi Mumbai: Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) entered a new phase in its aviation journey on Wednesday as the first scheduled international flight from Abu Dhabi landed at the greenfield airport, marking the official start of international operations at Maharashtra’s newest aviation hub.
The inaugural service was operated by Air India Express under flight number IX-208, which departed Abu Dhabi at 5.45 am local time and landed at NMIA at around 10.20 am local time. The arrival is a historic milestone, coming 201 days after NMIA welcomed its first domestic passengers.
Air India Express has launched the Abu Dhabi route with an initial twice-weekly schedule on Wednesdays and Fridays. The airline will increase the frequency to three flights per week from July 29, adding a Sunday service to the rotation.
The return service, IX-207, is scheduled to depart NMIA at 2.55 pm and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 4.35 pm local time, offering passengers a travel time of approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes between Navi Mumbai and the UAE capital.
Introductory Fares Lesser Than CSMIA
Air India Express has introduced the route with an introductory fare of Rs 12,671, which is lower than the average fare of Rs 14,175 for the same sector from Mumbai’s existing international airport.
The inaugural flight also carried NMIA’s first international perishable export shipment, formally activating the airport’s global cargo operations. The move is expected to create a new cold-chain logistics corridor for Indian agro-exporters supplying high-value and time-sensitive goods to Gulf markets.
With the launch of scheduled international operations, NMIA has taken a major step toward establishing itself as a second international gateway for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and a key aviation and logistics hub on India’s western coast.
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