India, Dec. 25 -- The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) in Maharashtra, which has begun operations on Thursday, marks a major addition to India's aviation infrastructure. Years in the making, the greenfield airport is being positioned as a future-ready global gateway.

Operations began at NMIA on Thursday with an IndiGo flight, which received a water salute on the runway.

Here are five key facts that define the scale and ambition of NMIA:

NMIA spans around 2,866 acres, making it one of the largest airport developments in the country. In perspective, a standard football field covers about 1.7 acres, meaning the airport is roughly the size of 1,650 football fields combined.

Once fully developed, NMIA is planned to serve up to 90 m...