India is rapidly connecting more cities to the world and reducing congestion in the big cities with the most traffic. Navi Mumbai International Airport has started the first international services with Air India Group's low-cost subsidiary Air India Express' flight to Abu Dhabi on 15 July 2026. International services start after commercial domestic operations begin at the airport on 25 December 2025. Airport operator Adani Airports Holding Ltd. said Air India Express flight to Abu Dhabi will depart early in the morning. The route will be operated thrice a week, with a convenient direct link to the United Arab Emirates, which is a hub for global connections. This establishes NMIA as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's second global gateway. Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Maharashtra government's urban planning and infrastructure development agency, CIDCO. 

Adani Group currently operates eight airports—Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Mangaluru. All eight airports now have international flight services along with domestic operations. The inaugural international flight also carries NMIA's first global perishable export shipment, establishing the airport as a new gateway for high-value, time-sensitive cargo, the airport operator said.