The Navi Mumbai International Airport carried out its first flight validation test on Sunday ahead of its inauguration in April next year.
Indigo Airlines A320 aircraft, which landed successfully at runway 26/08 of the under-construction Navi Mumbai airport, was given a water cannon salute from two Crash Fire Tenders (CFT) to mark the occasion.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport is set to be inaugurated on April 17, while the domestic operations are expected to commence in the second half of May.
The validation flight, part of the critical aerodrome certification process, was conducted to assess technical aspects, including landing, takeoff operations and safety protocols. The exercise includes technical assessment, landing and take-off manoeuvres, paving the way for the DGCA to validate the data collected from the flight and for NMIA to receive the aerodrome license, which is essential to operate the airport.
"Our ambition is to do the commercial inauguration of the airport by April 17," Adani Airport Holdings Ltd CEO Arun Bansal told media after the successful trial landing of the first civil passenger aircraft. Bansal said that the domestic operations will start from the second half of May as after the inaugural flight some procedures will have to be followed which will take about four weeks time. He said that the international operations would start by the end of July.
Post the successful landing, NMIA's established flight procedures will be published in the Electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (eAIP) for international promulgation, according to PTI.
Prior to the landing of the validation flight, NMIA successfully conducted the flight calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), subsequently drafting instrument approach procedures to prepare itself for the arrival of the validation flight.