As business aviation demand rises in the Mumbai region, infrastructure at the city’s second airport is being positioned to serve a fast-growing segment of flyers.
Private jet users will soon get access to a dedicated terminal at Navi Mumbai International Airport, with operations expected to begin in September 2026, according to a senior official from Adani Airports Holdings. Aircraft handling has already commenced at the airport, while construction of dedicated parking hangars is currently underway and likely to be completed in the coming months.
“While plane handling started from the first day, the terminal will open in September. Hangars are under construction. All the major operators want to shift to Navi Mumbai (from Mumbai),” said Jeet Adani in an interview ahead of the airport’s opening.
Airport officials said demand for private jet hangars at NMIA has been exceptionally strong, with applications for parking slot licences running nearly 3 times the available capacity. This reflects growing interest among general aviation operators to move away from the congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
In April and May last year, AAHL had asked airlines and private jet operators to vacate parking bays at CSMIA to allow construction of a new taxiway. Although the dismantling of existing hangars was scheduled to begin on August 1, the timeline was delayed due to the monsoon season.
At present, CSMIA has around 24 parking slots for general aviation aircraft. NMIA will begin operations with about 23 to 25 hangars and later expand capacity to 89 hangars, making it one of the largest general aviation facilities in India. AAHL also plans to discontinue overnight parking for small private jets at CSMIA. Going forward, only “pick-and-drop” operations will be allowed at Mumbai airport, with NMIA acting as the main parking hub.
“A lot of the planes parked in CSMIA are illegal because they breach into the obstacle line of sight (OLS). A lot of the hangars are illegal because they breach into the OLS. So, we will have to break the non-compliant ones. This has been long pending,” Adani said.
The move has drawn objections from the Business Aircraft Operators Association, whose members include large corporate groups such as Aditya Birla Group, JSW Steel, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro Aviation, and Raymond. The association has argued that ferrying aircraft between the 2 airports for parking would increase fuel costs and operational complexity.
Despite this, AAHL said both airports, located about 40 km apart, are being managed as a single operational system. The dedicated GA terminal at NMIA is designed to cater to VVIP and business aviation travellers, positioning the new airport as the primary private jet hub for the Mumbai metropolitan region.
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