Overview

• India’s aviation regulator issued the aerodrome licence on Sept. 30, with DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai formally handing the certificate to Adani Airports CEO Arun Bansal.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the facility on Oct. 8–9, and Gautam Adani reviewed the site and staff ahead of the ceremony.
• Operational proving has included test flights and water‑cannon salutes, while final handovers such as security to the CISF and scheduling steps are to be completed before commercial services begin.
• Airlines have outlined initial deployments: Air India Express plans 20 daily departures to 15 cities at launch scaling to 55 by mid‑2026, IndiGo has announced 18 daily departures initially, and Akasa Air targets 100 weekly flights rising over 2026.
• Phase 1 is designed for 20 million passengers and 0.5 million tonnes of cargo annually, with a long‑term buildout to about 90 million passengers and 3.2 million tonnes under the AAHL/MIAL–CIDCO partnership.