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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

NMIA set for commercial take-off on December 25

Long-term expansion plans take shape Mumbai: Even as long-term expansion plans gather momentum, Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is preparing to mark a defining milestone with the commencement of commercial operations from December 25, 2025. Sources familiar with the development confirmed that the first flight is scheduled to land at NMIA at around 8.30 am from Bengaluru, operated by IndiGo. The same aircraft will subsequently depart for Delhi, symbolically placing the greenfield...

NMIA set for commercial take-off on December 25

Long-term expansion plans take shape Mumbai: Even as long-term expansion plans gather momentum, Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is preparing to mark a defining milestone with the commencement of commercial operations from December 25, 2025. Sources familiar with the development confirmed that the first flight is scheduled to land at NMIA at around 8.30 am from Bengaluru, operated by IndiGo. The same aircraft will subsequently depart for Delhi, symbolically placing the greenfield airport on India’s aviation map and formally integrating it into the country’s busiest air corridors. This operational launch comes at a time when the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the project’s nodal planning authority, has initiated the process to appoint a consultant for conducting a geotechnical feasibility study for a proposed third runway at NMIA. The parallel movement of near-term operational readiness and long-term capacity planning underlines the strategic importance of the airport, not just as a secondary facility to Mumbai, but as a future aviation hub in its own right. The December 25 launch date carries significance beyond symbolism. NMIA has been envisioned for over two decades as a critical solution to the capacity constraints at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), which operates close to saturation. With limited scope for further expansion at Mumbai’s existing airport, NMIA’s entry into operations is expected to ease congestion, rationalise flight schedules and improve overall passenger experience across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Modest Operations Initial operations are expected to be modest, focusing on select domestic routes, with Bengaluru and Delhi being logical starting points given their high passenger volumes and strong business connectivity with Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Aviation experts note that starting with trunk routes allows operators and airport systems to stabilise operations, fine-tune processes and gradually scale up capacity. IndiGo’s choice as the first operator also reflects the airline’s dominant market share and its strategy of early-mover advantage at new airports. While NMIA’s first phase includes two runways, the initiation of a geotechnical feasibility study for a third runway highlights planners’ expectations of robust long-term demand. CIDCO’s move to appoint a consultant at this early stage suggests that authorities are keen to future-proof the airport, learning from the capacity limitations faced by CSMIA. A third runway, if found technically and environmentally feasible, would significantly enhance NMIA’s ability to handle peak-hour traffic, support parallel operations and attract international long-haul flights over time. The feasibility study will play a critical role in determining soil conditions, land stability, construction challenges and environmental sensitivities, particularly given Navi Mumbai’s complex terrain and proximity to mangroves and water bodies. Experts point out that such studies are essential to avoid cost overruns and execution delays, which have historically plagued large infrastructure projects in the region. From an economic perspective, the operationalisation of NMIA is expected to act as a catalyst for growth across Navi Mumbai and adjoining regions. Improved air connectivity is likely to boost commercial real estate, logistics parks, hospitality and tourism, while also strengthening the case for ancillary infrastructure such as metro lines, road corridors and airport-linked business districts. The timing of the airport’s opening also aligns with broader infrastructure upgrades underway in the MMR, including new highways and rail connectivity, which could amplify NMIA’s impact. However, challenges remain. Smooth coordination between airlines, ground handling agencies, security forces and air traffic control will be critical during the initial phase. Any operational hiccups could affect public perception of the new airport, making the first few weeks crucial. Additionally, the transition of flights from CSMIA to NMIA will need careful calibration to ensure passenger convenience and airline viability. As NMIA prepares to welcome its first aircraft on December 25, the simultaneous push towards planning a third runway signals a clear message: the airport is not just opening for today’s needs, but is being positioned to serve the region’s aviation demands for decades to come.

Twice-convicted, Saquib Nachan back into limelight

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Mumbai: Convicted twice for various terror activities, shady links and unholy anti-national plots, Thane’s most infamous baddie, Saquib A. Nachan has again shot to attention, for mostly similar reasons.

 

A permanent fixture on the radars of the Maharashtra Police and state and central intelligence and security agencies, this time the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) swooped on Nachan and his associates in the twin villages of Borivali-Padgha in Thane. 

 

Nabbed multiple times by different agencies, Nachan, 66, is currently cooling heels in a New Delhi jail in a two-year-old case related to the global terror group ISIS and his purported links with it.

 

Sources in Bhiwandi said that from his collegian days in the 1980s, Nachan – using several aliases - displayed rebellious tendencies and joined the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), now banned.

 

Over the years, he grew in SIMI, came in contact with Chenaparambil Abdulkader Muhammed Basheer, alias CAM Basheer, an extreme radical hailing from Kerala.

 

Nachan went ahead to forge ties with some Khalistani terror outfits, Pakistan’s ISI and lately with the much-dreaded ISIS, of which he was a self-appointed Maharashtra head.

 

The ATS raids on June 2 (yesterday, Monday) were prompted after the agencies tightened their vigil on potential mischief-mongers following the April 22 Pahalgam terror strikes on tourists.

 

Post-raids on Monday, the ATS said that Nachan had delivered fiery and provocative speeches to sway the local populace towards planning anti-national actions/attacks.

 

On getting reliable intel of such possibilities, the ATS moved a local Magistrate for search warrants and raided more than 20 locations yesterday, besides detaining a dozen suspects for planning violent disturbances.

 

For Nachan, there was a sudden break in 1992 when he and a Khalistani extremist Lal Singh – entrusted with implementing Operation K2 (Kashmir-Khalistan) – were nabbed and convicted. Nachan spent 10 years in jail.

 

After completing his sentence in 2001, he was again suspected and arrested for the three bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai between Dec. 2002-March 2003 at Mumbai Central’s McDonalds outlet (Dec. 6, 2002), the Vile Parle station market (Jan. 17, 2003) and in a local train compartment in Mulund (March 30, 2003) - totally claiming 13 lives and injuring more than 130 people.

 

The Mumbai Police had clubbed the three terror strikes and in its combined chargesheet, had accused Nachan and others of criminal conspiracy to wage a war against India. He was convicted and sentenced to jail for 10 years, after which he was set free in 2017.

 

Earlier, he was also arrested as the prime suspect in the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist Lalit Jain in Bhiwandi, but was acquitted in 2006 for lack of sufficient evidence.

 

Nachan was nabbed again in Aug. 2012 for a murder attempt on a Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionary Manoj Raicha, and was subsequently enlarged on bail in Aug. 2014.

 

In 2023, when the country was limping back from the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdowns, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) knocked on Nachan’s door and picked him up for the ISIS-related case.

 

Among other things, he had proclaimed the Padgha village as ‘Al Sham’ (liberated), and administered the ‘Bayath’ (oath of allegiance) to the Khalifa of ISIS to new recruits, etc.

 

Kindred souls – Nachans, Bhatkals, Memons and Kaskars

A B.Com. graduate with a sharp legal acumen that dazes even top lawyers, Saquib A. Nachan admitted in the past that he visited Dubai, Afghanistan, Pakistan and more countries, ostensibly to build ties with extremist outfits based/functioning from there and casting an evil eye on India.

 

Once in the 1980s, he joined the Afghanistan Mujahideen groups to wage war against the Soviet Union, which brought him in contact with more merchants of terror.

 

Given his inglorious track record, Nachan and his kin, along with the Karnataka-based Bhatkal kin, Yasin and Riyaz who founded the much-feared Indian Mujahideen (IM) in 2007, remain among the 'most-watched persons' in the country.

 

The Nachans (Thane), the Bhatkals (Karnataka) and earlier the Memon clan, as also the absconder Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar families (both from Mumbai), are rank as the most notorious domestic terror pot-stirrers, though many still await their date with the law.

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