FPJ Exclusive: Navi Mumbai International Airport To Replace Food Court With Curated Food Hall, Offer Lonavala Trips To Passengers Before Boarding

Mumbai: Going against the conventional system of food courts at the airports, the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will provide an experience of Mumbai to the passengers by serving specially curated meals at the airport’s food hall.

To provide one-of-its-kind customer experience service, travellers will be able to book special sightseeing tour packages to Lonavala and nearby areas before they board their flights.

The construction work for Mumbai metropolitan region’s second city airport is rushing towards the end with an aim to inaugurate the airport in late August. Meanwhile, the airport operator Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (NMIAL), which is a joint venture between Adani Airports Holding Ltd (AAHL) and City and Industrial Development Corporation Of Maharashtra (CIDCO), is working on multiple initiatives to enhance customer experience at the greenfield airport.

According to a senior official from the NMIA’s non-aero commercial division, the airport terminal will not house a food court, with quick service restaurants and premium franchisees, like other Indian airports. Rather, it will have a one-of-its-kind food hall with a specially curated menu providing a touch of Mumbai to the travellers. The food hall is said to offer a wide range of cuisines including specially curated meals for vegan, diabetic as well as Jain preferences.

The airport will feature an experiential zone for passengers once they clear the security channel. This will be a mix of digital and physical artefacts based on the iconic structures of Mumbai, Maharashtra and India. With the experiential zone, the airport is aiming at lowering the anxiety of worried passengers before they commence their air travel.

The airport will also feature a food court with popular brands of restaurant and coffee shops outside the terminal building for non-passengers who visit the airport to drop or receive the travellers. While a game zone will also be established alongside the food court, the airport’s common area will also have a drivers’ canteen and a waiting lounge.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, the senior official said, “While our offerings and ambience at the food hall will be premium, our pricing will be at par with any other restaurant chains. At the same time, we have also made arrangements for the non-passengers to spend time and have food at the airport. We believe that they are also a part of the journey and are often neglected.”

NMIAL is also planning to introduce a unique customer experience product where the passengers would be able to have a quick trip to Lonavala and nearby localities with scenic beauty. While this product is still at the planning stage, NMIA will be the only airport in India to allow its passengers to book specially curated sight-seeing sessions before they board their flights.

Navi Mumbai International Airport Opening Date Confirmed; NMIA To Be Inaugurated On PM Modi's Birthday – Reports

“Travellers on connecting flights with long waiting hours or those visiting the city only to board a flight can go sight-seeing to Lonavala, have lunch and come back to board the flight, everything within five to six hours. We are also looking at many options from among the must visit places in Mumbai which could be explored with the help of Atal Setu,” said the official.