‘NMI’ is the official code of Navi Mumbai International Airport

A 3D representation of the DB Patil International Airport

Navi Mumbai's much-anticipated airport, the DB Patil International Airport, has been assigned a three-letter code ‘NMI' by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), marking a significant milestone in its development. The airport, which is currently under construction, will adopt the code once it becomes operational.

"The assignment of the IATA code is a crucial step in the airport's journey towards completion. The code will uniquely identify the airport in the global aviation network, enabling airlines and passengers to easily identify and access the facility once it is ready for operations," said a DGCA official in conversation with midday

"The DB Patil International Airport is poised to become a major aviation hub in the region. The airport is strategically located in Navi Mumbai, a rapidly growing satellite city of Mumbai, and is expected to cater to the burgeoning air travel demand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region," the official added. An official from the Airports Authority of India said, "The airport is being developed to ease the burden on Mumbai's existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, which has been operating at full capacity for several years. Once operational, the DB Patil International Airport is expected to significantly enhance the region's connectivity and stimulate economic growth."

"Construction work on the airport is progressing steadily, with various phases of development being completed as per schedule. The assignment of the IATA code underscores the airport's progress towards becoming a key aviation infrastructure project in India," the official added.

The AAI official explained the IATA code in a way the common man can understand, stating, "IATA code is assigned to the airport by IATA, which consists of three letters and created through the airport and city names. These codes are mostly generated with letters chosen from a city's name and are usually printed on tickets of the passengers. Two-character codes of airports were given in 1930 for the first time. Then three-character codes started to be used."

The official also gave an example to understand the code better, stating, "Just like CSMIA Mumbai has an IATA code ‘BOM', the Navi Mumbai Airport has been assigned the IATA code ‘NMI'. There are two types of codes assigned to an airport which are the IATA code and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) codes.

The IATA codes are used by airlines for passenger conveniences, meanwhile ICAO code is used by pilots to feed in their Multipurpose Control and Display Unit (MCDU), more often called flight computer to let the Air Traffic Controller as well as the aircraft system know where the flight is planned for so that the aircraft retrieves the waypoints on the route for navigation purposes. For example, the IATA code of Mumbai airport is BOM and the ICAO code is VABB."