Mumbai: Navi Mumbai airport is expected to commence international flight operations from July 15 with both passenger and cargo flights, said a top official of the airport on Wednesday. The second airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region was commissioned on Dec 25 last year and currently is the eighth busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic, according to Airports Authority of India data.“On July 15, we are starting with freighters, and we expect the freighters to ramp up to almost 18 weekly flights. Good news is also that there is movement on the passenger side and hopefully on July 15 international passenger flights will also start,” said B V J K Sharma, chief executive officer of Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd, speaking to the media on the sidelines of a logistics conclave. He added that both IndiGo and Air India Express are set to operate international flights from Navi Mumbai.The airport handled 5.24 lakh passengers in April, while Mumbai airport, India’s second busiest airport, handled 40.47 lakh. Both the airports will continue to handle domestic and passenger flights, with the Navi Mumbai airport expected to take on the incremental demand for air travel generated in the Mumbai region.
