New Delhi: Mumbai Airport was named CAPA Asia Pacific Airport of the Year. This award is given to the airport that has been the biggest standout strategically, established itself as a leader and done the most to advance the progress of the aviation industry.


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Mumbai Airport CEO Rajeev Jain accepted the award from CAPA Executive Director Peter Harbison.


Mumbai was selected for the innovative development of T2, which has enabled Mumbai to emerge as one of the leading airports in Asia.


"The construction of T2 was an incredibly complex infrastructure project, which required a massive new terminal to be constructed on a very constrained land bank on the site of an existing busy and fast growing airport. Despite these challenges, the operator has successfully delivered an iconic terminal that is architecturally and aesthetically spectacular and which has transformed the passenger experience," Harbison said.


CAPA also noted that airlines have benefited from the airport's very committed focus on improving airside efficiency. Over the last five years Mumbai Airport has managed to increase runway capacity from just over 30 movements per hour, to 45 movements per hour, peaking at just over 51. That places the airport amongst the best in class globally for a single runway operation. The innovative approach to runway management has created new slots and improved on-time performance. (Mumbai has two cross runways but it finds it more efficient to use just one of them).


The airport has been modernized over the last several years by a consortium led by GFK. Modernizing and expanding an airport in the heart of a city provided a mammoth challenge but the project was completed at one of the lowest unit costs among all recent airport projects. The design for T2 set a new benchmark in the industry as it conceptualize for the first time a four-level vertically integrated design.


Mumbai Airport opened the first stage of its domestic pier in early 2015, with more airlines progressively moving in over time. This enables passengers to connect between domestic and international services under one roof, in place of the very inefficient and lengthy process of transferring between the distant domestic and international terminals. This should further enhance Mumbai's hub potential.