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Summary
International flights were originally meant to commence at the airport from 29 March, but the Iran conflict has forced a rethink, a source told Mint.
Travellers will have to wait a while longer to fly overseas from Navi Mumbai International Airport as the Adani Group-owned facility has postponed the start of its international operations due to the ongoing war in West Asia, a senior executive familiar with the development told Mint on the on the sidelines of the Airport360 Expo in Mumbai.
International flights were originally meant to commence at the airport from 29 March, in line with the start of the 2026 summer flight schedule in India. However, the Iran conflict has forced a rethink, causing the launch to be pushed further into the season, said the executive, who requested anonymity to discuss business plans.
"It is difficult to specify an exact start date at this point, but we expect international departures to commence once the Gulf situation stabilizes,” the executive added.
Airlines had lined up nearly 20 daily international departures from the airport for the summer schedule, reflecting strong anticipated demand for overseas travel, particularly to Gulf destinations that are key routes for Indian carriers, the executive said.
However, Indian airlines have limited or no flights to the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, which has also led to higher fuel prices and longer flying hours for airlines. Several major airports in the region have halted or severely limited foreign flights for the foreseeable future. Dubai International Airport has limited foreign flights until May, Reuters reported, citing a private email to airlines on 27 March that said carriers would be allowed one round trip per day.
From the start of the war on 27 February to 29 March, Indian and foreign carriers have brought back 559,952 stranded Indian passengers from West Asian countries, the civil aviation ministry said in a reply in the Lok Sabha on 2 April.
In January, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd chief executive officer Arun Bansal told Mint that international operations were expected to begin in the April-June quarter. Bansal had said in an October 2025 media briefing that foreign airlines would start operations after the airport secured permits for night operations. He had also announced a one-year waiver on parking fees for international carriers, a benefit not extended to domestic airlines.
The delay comes after the airport operator received the night flying permit, and highlights the broader impact of the Iran war on aviation planning, especially for routes heavily dependent on Middle East airspace and demand.
Emails sent to Navi Mumbai International Airport did not elicit a response.
Domestic ops in full swing
Navi Mumbai airport began operations last year, with its first flight on 25 December. India’s top three airlines—IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air—and regional carrier Star Air have begun domestic operations from the airport.
The airport added 30 new domestic routes and will now cater to 46 domestic destinations, according to a press statement. Average daily departures are projected to rise from 22 at launch to 78 by April. The expansion is expected to improve connectivity in tier-1 and tier-2 cities.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is the eighth airport owned by Adani Airports Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Ahmedabad conglomerate. The other seven airports are in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai. Adani Airports operates and manages its facilities primarily through public-private partnerships.
The airport business contributed 10% to the total consolidated income of Adani Enterprises and 21% to total Ebitda in FY25. Income from the airport business jumped 27% to ₹8,062 crore that year.
About the Author
Dipali Banka
Dipali Banka is a Mumbai-based journalist who treats corporate reporting less like a beat and more like a puzzle to be solved. This invariably means she has to read through annual reports and speak with leaders and analysts. She tracks policies, deals, and the pulse of industries spanning metals, mining, paints, and cement, alongside aviation. She started out as an intern at The Statesman and then completed her postgraduate diploma in journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, in 2025. Relentlessly curious at heart, Dipali is driven by the simple urge to understand how things work and who they impact. Armed with an enduring fascination for steel and aeroplanes, she moves through the churn of daily news with focus, turning complexity into clarity without losing the story. She is particularly committed to shaping numbers into objective narratives, having little appetite for vagueness that gets in her way.<br><br>Outside the newsroom, Dipali is an unapologetically loud presence who values long conversations and longer walks to unwind. She devours books of all kinds and can often be found indulging in the lyrical sway of contemporary ghazals. She ardently believes that her relationship with her bylines is more sacred than it would ever be with anyone across the human race.
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