How Mumbai's New Airport Could Help Lift India’s Aviation Profile

Gearing up for the launch of the new airport in Mumbai, operator Adani Airport Holdings has partnered with low-cost carrier Akasa Air to commence flight operations.

Under the agreement, Akasa will operate over 100 weekly domestic departures to begin with from the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). The airline plans to scale this up to over 300 domestic and more than 50 international flights a week in the weekly schedule. In a statement, Akasa said that it will focus on international expansion into key Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian markets.

Akasa Founder and CEO Vinay Dube said, “No airline in India will have a larger percentage of its fleet and operations based out of NMIA than Akasa Air.”

This partnership came a few days after budget airline IndiGo became the first airline to sign an agreement to operate flights from it.

The airport is also key to IndiGo’s international network as CEO Pieter Elbers said earlier this month that the Navi Mumbai airport will connect to 14 international destinations at launch.

The Navi Mumbai Project: The Navi Mumbai International Airport project is being developed for $2 billion and is expected to ease congestion at the current Mumbai airport. The aim is to position Mumbai as a global transit hub.

The airport's opening has now been pushed from May this year to August.

Similar to Delhi, there are also plans to develop an aerocity around the Navi Mumbai airport to drive up non-aeronautic revenues.

India is now the world’s third-largest aviation market, a milestone that has been highlighted in a new report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The aviation industry is counting on this airport in Mumbai, along with the upcoming Jewar airport in Delhi, to help cater to the growing demand for air travel in the country.

In his address at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting earlier this month, Director General Willie Walsh said that infrastructure development is important for growth of aviation, adding that upcoming secondary airports in Delhi and Mumbai are a positive development.

Bringing Traffic to Navi Mumbai: Adani has also requested the government to make passenger and airline tariffs at both Navi Mumbai and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport uniform. If approved, the move is expected to increase traffic flow at the new airport.

Navi Mumbai airport was expected to have notably higher passenger fees, landing and parking charges, which could discourage airlines from shifting to the new airport.

However, this unification could also drive up tariffs at the existing Mumbai airport due to averaging of fees. This would follow the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India move last month to increase the user development fee for domestic passengers from 120 per passenger to 175 at the operational Mumbai airport.

Higher airport charges are an issue that IATA has been vocal about. Walsh said that airlines want airports to operate efficiently at a cost-effective price, and urged dialogue between airlines and airports.

Maldives has appointed Bollywood actor Katrnia Kaif as the global tourism ambassador. The move is expected to boost tourism from India as diplomatic relations are easing between the two countries.

Maldives is the latest in a series of companies hiring Bollywood actors as ambassadors to attract Indian tourists. In a recent feature, Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia noted that Bollywood has become an economic force in the global tourism industry.

Hilton has partnered with actors Deepika Padukone and Sidharth Malhotra as ambassadors. Just the announcement of Deepika Padukone garnered over 1.3 million organic social engagements and generated more than 30 million impressions last year for Hilton, Skift noted.

According to Manish Tolani, VP and commercial director, South Asia, Hilton, the partnership with Padukone helped the hotel company “win new fans and draw our brands ever closer to Indian customers.”

In 2023, Accor partnered with Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif to star in its latest campaign of ALL-Accor Live Limitless, the hotel brand’s lifestyle loyalty program.

Full-service airline Air India has expanded its integrated self-check-in and baggage-drop service. The move will allow passengers flying from India to all destinations operated by the airline in Europe, the UK, and Canada to avail this facility.

The airline already allows this facility for passengers flying to the U.S. and Australia. With this development, the facility now extends to a total of 19 airports, including London Heathrow and Gatwick, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Milan, Zurich, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Newark, Washington, San Francisco, Sydney, and Melbourne.

Using the self check-in and baggage drop facility, passengers will have the opportunity for faster check-in using kiosks for printing boarding passes and baggage tags before dropping their own bags in the baggage drop machines.

While these machines do eliminate the need to stand in check-in queues, my experience at these machines twice has required help from airport ground staff to get through the baggage drop process.

Puducherry tourism department has formed a policy to support caravan tourism. The beach destination has brought camper vans and caravans under a formal tax structure, and its initiative also facilitates issuing permits not only for such vehicles registered in Puducherry, but those from other states as well.

This move will allow travelers to hire camper vans or caravans for travel across the state. Puducherry has launched the tax system for 3, 7, and 30 days. The state is expecting the move to boost tourism as road-based and adventure travel segments are rising in the country.

Low-cost airline Akasa Air on Monday inducted a Boeing 737 Max from Seattle into its fleet. With this addition, the airline’s fleet has expanded to 29 aircraft within less than three years of operations.

The company is expanding its network rapidly, with operations to 23 Indian and five international destinations. To support this expansion, the airline placed orders totalling 226 Boeing 737 Max planes. Of these, 150 jets were ordered last January, and the airline is expecting delivery till 2032.

IHG Hotels and Resorts has signed a new Holiday Inn-branded hotel in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The 150-room hotel is expected to open in 2028.

The property will be a part of the Highline mixed-use residential and commercial development. According to IHG, the signing is a part of the company’s strategy of expanding in high-potential markets across India.

“Ahmedabad has emerged as a key destination with robust demand across industrial, commercial, and educational sectors,” said Sudeep Jain, managing director, South West Asia at IHG. He added that India continues to be a priority market for the company across the world.