Aviation sector reboot faces execution test

THE AVIATION SECTOR is set to enter the new year with a rare surge of infrastructure capacity.

- AKBAR MERCHANT & YARUQHULLAH KHAN

While the last few days of 2025 witnessed the opening of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, the Noida International Airport at Jewar is expected to start operations next month. Together, they represent the largest single expansion of airport capacity delivered in such a short span, easing longstanding congestion pressures around the Delhi and Mumbai aviation markets.

For airlines, the opening of the two greenfield airports offers headroom to add flights, rebalance schedules and reduce peak-hour strain at existing hubs. Capacity constraints at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport have long limited network expansion and operational flexibility. The new facilities are expected to absorb spillover traffic and create room for incremental growth.