Two days before the inauguration of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials on Monday said that the airport has been built to withstand even the most extreme weather events.“We are prepared for the worst cloudburst scenario. The airport has been raised to 8.5 metres and has been tested. Don’t worry, it will never flood,” Captain BVJK Sharma, chief executive officer of NMIA, said at a press briefing.He was responding to a query on whether they have kept the heavy rains and overflowing of Panvel Creek, which surrounds the NMIA, in mind while designing the airport.Story continues below this ad“Our mission in life is to take anxiety away from the common people,” he added, noting that this mission extends beyond the runway.Stating that every detail of the airport has been designed with the passenger in mind, he said, “There will be pre-booked parking, DigiYatra-enabled gates, plenty of self-baggage drops, a trusted travel programme to skip queues at check-in and immigration, and food delivery directly to your boarding gate.”The airport, which features four entry gates and three operational centres — Alpha, Bravo and Charlie—will have 88 check-in counters.Of these, 66 will follow the traditional format staffed by airline personnel, while 22 will be self-check-in counters.With its first flight expected to take off in December, the NMIA will operate between 8 am and 8 pm in its opening month.It will have a capacity of 10 air traffic movements (ATMs) per hour—meaning up to ten aircraft can land or take off every hour. While officials have not disclosed whether Air India, IndiGo or Akasa Air will launch the first service, airlines are expected to announce routes and ticket sales shortly.Story continues below this adEven as officials are certain that the airport will cater to both domestic and international flights from day one of its operations, it will be seen how it pans out.As reported earlier, NMIA plans to have four terminals and two parallel runways. The first phase, costing around Rs 20,000 crore, includes one runway (3,700m x 60m) and one terminal. The design process for the second terminal has already begun, with the Adani Group committing an additional Rs 30,000 crore towards expansion. When complete, NMIA will have four terminals and two parallel runways, handling up to 90 million passengers per annum (MPPA), compared to 20 MPPA in the first phase.Positioned as an “international aviation hub” on the lines of Dubai or Heathrow, officials said that NMIA is intended to reclaim Mumbai’s rightful place on the global aviation map.“For a decade, Mumbai airport has been underserved. In fact the cohort for travellers from Mumbai is significantly different from Delhi. People didn’t have a choice, there was no possibility for airlines to get additional slots in Mumbai. Hence, over a period of time, diversion of behavior happened where people thought they had no choice but to go from Delhi because Mumbai had no capacity. We are course-correcting it with NMIA, it won’t happen overnight but over the next 5-7 years,” said Arun Bansal, CEO of AAHL, adding that there is a lack of direct flights to major destinations in Europe and US, but that will change and NMIA will play a major role in that.Story continues below this adBeyond passenger travel, NMIA is also set to become the country’s largest MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and cargo facility similar to Shanghai. The cargo hub is expected to handle 0.5 million metric tonnes annually in its initial phase, expanding to 3.2 million metric tonnes when fully operational.Unlike conventional food courts, NMIA will feature a “food hall” concept where passengers will not need to visit each kiosk separately to place their orders. Instead, they can pre-order from multiple outlets at once and receive a single consolidated delivery.Alongside dedicated restaurants such as Wagamama and Coco Cafe By Coco Cart, the airport will also house Bombay Bond — a cluster of four popular brands: KMC, Bombay Brasserie, Bayroute, and Foo.Passengers will also be able to order food directly to their boarding gate through the airport’s dedicated app.Story continues below this adOfficials also informed that the Udaan Yatri Cafe, a network of government-initiated cafes within Indian airports offering affordable snacks like tea for Rs 10 and samosas for Rs 20, will also be made available.While its terminal design draws inspiration from the unfurling of a lotus, and the architecture at the airport premises creates the illusion of being underwater.Right after the entry, two large circular interactive displays greet passengers, while a massive digital installation—one of the world’s largest—stands just behind the security check. These screens generate ripple effects that respond to movement, deepening the aquatic illusion.In the months to come, more installations will join this visual landscape: a “fabric forest” woven from threads sourced across Maharashtra, and an immersive digital experience just beyond the security area, designed to soothe post-frisking stress. Together, these installations blend local craftsmanship with global design sensibilities, turning the airport into a public art space as much as a transport hub.