Noida International Airport in Jewar is likely to begin its flight operations mid-December. Among the airlines, Akasa, Air India Express and IndiGo will be the first ones to start their flights to and from the airport that is due for inauguration early November, officials told media.
The airport was to be inaugurated on October 30, which officials told media is likely to be rescheduled.
Shailendra Bhatia, the nodal officer for Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) confirmed that Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air are the airlines which are expected to start their flights from the airport.
The airlines, however, are yet to announce their schedule and routes from the Noida International Airport.
The airport, developed by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), is also expected to soon acquire its aerodrome licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after it recently got clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for the airside infrastructure. Phase one of the Noida International Airport will feature a single runway and a terminal with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu had earlier said the airport will initially connect at least 10 cities. He added that the facility will play a strategic role in cargo operations as along with civil aviation it also will be a major cargo hub.
Spread across 1,334 hectares of area the NIA will serve Delhi NCR as the second major commercial airport alongside Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. While in its phase one, the airport will have one terminal building and one 3,900-metre-long runway, with time the annual capacity will be extended to 70 million in four phases.
The airport had witnessed its first test flight in December last year when an IndiGo flight from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) landed at the airport for the technical assessment under the supervision of officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The data collected during the trials and technical assessment was critical for flight validation and in ensuring the airport’s readiness to handle passenger services.
