Navi Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS): After the successful trial of the first commercial flight at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), airport officials called it a historic moment and said commercial operations will begin at the airport in May 2025.

Speaking to IANS, Adani Airport Holding CEO, Arun Bansal said that landing a commercial flight at Navi Mumbai International Airport is historic.

"Now we have moved one step further towards starting the airport. We will inaugurate the first terminal of the airport around April 17, 2025, and commercial operations will start on it in May. The capacity of the first terminal will be around 2 crore passengers per year."

He further said that India's aviation market will grow 5X from here. Now, it is necessary to have such greenfield airports in the country. This will create thousands of job opportunities.

According to Bansal, after the completion of all phases, NMIA's capacity will be 9 crore passengers per year.

Along with this, the capacity to handle 30 lakh tonnes of cargo per year is also being developed in the airport. Out of this, 8 lakh tonnes of capacity will be started in the first phase.

CIDCO, MD, Vijay Singhal said that the NMIA is well-connected. It is connected to South Mumbai via Atal Setu. Apart from this, it is also connected to other Metro lines, due to which the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will get access to the airport.

He further said that the construction of this airport will support the development of this area and a large number of jobs will be created in many sectors.

Navi Mumbai Airport, CEO, BVJK Sharma said that this is a milestone.

"When we started the work, there were many villagers and a large mountain. To build this airport, first, the land was prepared and then the terminal was built."

This airport will be inaugurated on April 17.

All major airlines will start their air services here.