Air India Express will launch direct flights between Navi Mumbai International Airport and Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi from July 15, making the UAE capital the first international destination to be served from Mumbai's newest airport.
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI) opened for domestic flights in December, and was developed to ease congestion at Mumbai's existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM).
Air India Express flight IX207 will depart Navi Mumbai at 2.55am local time on July 15 and will arrive in Abu Dhabi at 4.35am UAE time after a flight of three hours and 10 minutes. The corresponding flight, IX208, will depart Abu Dhabi at 5.45am local time and arrive in Mumbai at 10.20am local time.
Return flights between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi start at 29,000 rupees, although prices vary depending on travel dates and availability. Flights will initially operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, already operates flights between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is India's newest major aviation hub and was built on a greenfield site across Mumbai Harbour. The airport was conceived more than two decades ago as a long-term solution to capacity constraints at Mumbai's existing airport, one of the busiest in the country.
The new route comes as the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority announced the full resumption of air traffic operations on June 24, although some international carriers continue to adopt a cautious approach as the situation evolves.
Last week, Etihad Airways said it was preparing for its “biggest summer” yet, with plans to operate more than 300 flights a day. Alongside Air India and Air India Express, airlines including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Saudia and India's IndiGo are already operating daily services from Zayed International Airport.
Turkish Airlines has also confirmed that flights to Abu Dhabi will resume on July 1, while services to Dubai will increase from seven to 14 flights a week from June 25.
