Air India Express set to open bookings for inaugural international flight to Abu Dhabi

• Air India Express is set to begin international flights from Navi Mumbai Airport to Abu Dhabi on July 15.

• Bookings for the inaugural overseas service are expected to open on Saturday.

• The airport, which began domestic operations in December 2025, is preparing for a broader international ramp-up.

Air India Group's low-cost arm Air India Express is set to start international flights from greenfield Navi Mumbai Airport to Abu Dhabi on July 15, with the opening of bookings for the inaugural flight likely to be announced on Saturday, according to a source.

On June 17, Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) chief executive officer BVJK Sharma told the media that the airport was looking to start international operations for passengers and freight services from July 15.

The Adani Group-owned Navi Mumbai Airport, in which the Maharashtra government's urban planning and infrastructure development agency Cidco also holds a 26 per cent stake, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year.

It commenced domestic commercial operations on December 25, 2025.

Air India Express is set to start its international services from NMIA to Abu Dhabi on July 15, and the bookings for the airline's new overseas services are set to be opened from today, making it the first air carrier to launch international operations from the greenfield airport, the source told PTI.

Other domestic and foreign airlines are likely to follow suit, he said.

Air India Express spokesperson could not be contacted for the comments.

"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," the NMIAL CEO had told reporters on the sidelines of the Brihanmumbai Customs Broker's Association-hosted Logistics Conclave in the financial capital.

Sharma had made this announcement after Member (Customs), a senior official within the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), reviewed the readiness of the airport (for international operations) on June 16.

The airport operator had earlier planned to launch international services from its facility from the start of the airline's summer schedule (last week of March -last week of October), but had to postpone it due to the West Asia conflict.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport currently handles around 20,000 passengers per day with 150 departures and arrivals. The airport is expecting the daily passenger footfall to surge to 50,000 per day by the year-end, and 380 Air traffic movements (arrivals and departures) per day.