IAF’s historic landing at Navi Mumbai airport

Navi Mumbai International Airport NMIAL witnessed a significant milestone on Friday as the Indian Air Force IAF successfully conducted the inaugural landing at the underdevelopment airport which is scheduled to be operational by March 2025 The muchanticipated event saw a C295 aircraft land on runway 26 the southbound runway marking a new chapter for the airports operational capabilitiesA C295 aircrafttaking off from Navi Mumbai International Airport NMIAL on Friday PicPrasun ChoudhariThe landing termed ldquohistoricrdquo by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was attended by prominent dignitaries including Maharashtrarsquos Chief Minister both Deputy Chief Ministers and the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol A host of MPs and MLAs were also present to witness the inaugural landingFollowing the touchdown of the C295 the crowd was treated to a spectacular single circuit and flyby of the IAF Sukhoi Su30 fighter aircraft whose thunderous roar echoed over the airport Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in his media address stated ldquoThe airport upon completion will cater to approximately 9 crore passengers a year This airport will also boost the development of the MMR and Maharashtra as a wholerdquo Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said ldquoWe are now ready for fight and flights This will be one of the biggest airports in the countryrdquoPicPrasun ChoudhariNMIAL is a significant boon for the Mumbai and metropolitan region Both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports will also be connected by a Metro line which will make the commute between both airports shorter The Navi Mumbai airport is scheduled to be completed by March 2025 but if the work is finished earlier the airport will open for commercial use before March as wellrdquoChief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis along with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare were also present PicKirti Surve ParadeMinister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol stated that the Navi Mumbai Airport will be named after Loknete DB Patil On October 7 MoS Murlidhar Mohol informed via X ldquoToday I chaired a meeting alongside Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Rammohan Naidu ji regarding the Government of Maharashtrarsquos resolution to name it Loknete DB Patil Navi Mumbai International AirportrdquoWhy IAF planes were usedAn AAI official said ldquoThese aircraft C295 are generally adapted to land on uneven terrain which is why they are generally used for test landings As this was the first landing it was riskier to land an airliner as the faults if any in the runway are not known till the time an aircraft runs on it As such aircraft are adapted to land on uneven terrain there is low to zero chance of a catastrophic fault but the fault with the runway will be detectedrdquo Earlier in the day Aaditya Thackeray had tweeted ldquoWhile landing today theyrsquove used the C295 which as per Airbus itself can land on unpaved and short runways This costs the Indian Air Force time and taxpayersrsquo moneyrdquoPicPrasun ChoudharilsquoName it after Ratan TatarsquoA petition has been launched on the Changeorg platform asking for the new Navi Mumbai airport to be named after the late Ratan Tata Started on October 10 it is gathering signatures at a fast pace Excerpts from the petition state ldquoNaming the new airport in Mumbai after Sir Ratan Tata would be a fitting tribute to a visionary leader whose contributions have shaped modern India and Mumbai in particularrdquo It cites his contributions to ldquophilanthropy social welfare and national developmentrdquo making him an iconic figure not just in business but in the broader fabric of Indian societyIn an exclusive MidDay observed the firstever takeoff from NMIAL as the C295 aircraft soared into the skies just hours after the event concludedTo view the entire petition go to httpschngitBYNSj65cJd