Noida International Airport COO Kiran Jain (left) with Navi Mumbai International Airport COO Prabhat Mahapatra on stage at Routes Asia 2025.
PERTH, Australia—New airports at India’s two largest cities are moving closer to their goal of starting operations this year, with ambitious growth plans for future phases.
Second airports are being developed for the New Delhi capital area and the Mumbai metropolitan area, and senior executives of both facilities updated their plans here at the Routes Asia conference on March 26.
Noida International Airport near New Delhi is currently focused on “the critical milestone” of getting its licensing approved, said COO Kiran Jain. If everything goes according to plan, this should be achieved by mid-May, Jain said.
Once this step is completed, the airport will have a better idea of exactly when it may open, Jain said. But the airport is confident it will occur this year.
Noida will start with a capacity of 12 million passengers per year with a single runway. It is aiming for four phases of growth to eventually lift capacity to 70 million per year.
The airport is targeting a “slow, steady ramp-up,” Jain said. Noida is not committing to specific dates for subsequent phases, but aims to start developing each next phase when the prior phase reaches about 80% of its planned capacity, Jain said.
Demand is such that the 12 million goal for the first phase is likely to be achieved within just 2.5 years, Jain said. This would mean that development of at least a “phase 1A” may begin soon after the airport opens. This could include elements such as additional gates and parking.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is aiming for official inauguration in June, said COO Prabhat Mahapatra. This would allow commercial flights to begin by the end of July or early August.
The airport will open with capacity for 20 million passengers per year, with a single terminal and runway. It plans to expand this to 50 million per year by the middle of 2029 with the addition of another terminal and runway, Mahapatra said.
Subsequent planned phases would add another 20 million capacity by 2032, with an eventual goal of 90 million by 2036.
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