Jewar: The Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar Monday successfully completed its validation flight Monday, bringing it a step closer to beginning operations by April 2025.
A validation flight, which tests the approach and departure procedures at the new runway, including navigational and air traffic control systems, is a key element for getting the aerodrome licence.
The report of Monday’s validation flight will now be sent for review to the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Following the review, airport authorities will finalise the required documentation for aerodrome certification and submit it to the DGCA. The aerodrome licence is mandatory for commencing airport operations.
Monday’s flight was conducted by IndiGo, and verified the airport’s approach procedures, confirming the accuracy and functionality of its navigational aids and air traffic control systems. NIA and IndiGo had last year signed an MoU, to work together towards developing and strengthening air connectivity within Uttar Pradesh and beyond.
The IndiGo flight which touched down on a 3.9-kilometre runway in the afternoon was greeted with a ceremonial water cannon salute.
“The validation flight is being conducted on an Airbus A-320 to test the RNP (required navigation performance) procedures and ILS approach procedures. RNP is a set of navigation specifications that allow aircraft to fly precise flightpaths with high accuracy,” the NIA said.
While the airport’s plans to begin operations by the end of 2024 were pushed back largely due to construction delays, the NIA is now expected to be up and running by the end of April 2025.
In the first phase, the airport will have one runway (on which the validation flight was conducted), and one terminal with a capacity to handle an annual traffic of 12 million passengers.
Speaking to reporters, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu said the validation flight was a very important occasion, and would “decide the future of NIA”.
“…Noida International Airport is the most prestigious project in the country, especially because of the idea with which it came… as it caters to Delhi-NCR territory as well as western Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
The minister took a review meeting with the airport operator, and directed them to adhere to project deadlines to ensure the airport became operational by April 2025.
The NIA, which is the second international airport in Delhi-NCR, is a greenfield airport at Jewar. The foundation stone of the airport was laid on 25 November, 2021, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The airport is planned on 1,334 hectares and is located about 72 kilometres from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, 52 kilometres from Noida and 130 kilometres from Agra.
It is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100 percent subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, through a public-private partnership (PPP) with an overall investment of Rs 5,730 crore.
Also read: Indian airports currently lag behind global ones in a key revenue stream, but change is in the air
The project will be completed in four phases. Once completed, the airport will house two passenger terminals. Terminal 1 will have a capacity of 30 million passengers per year and Terminal 2 a capacity of 40 million.
The first Terminal (T1) will be built in two stages—the first for 12 million passengers per year, and the second with an additional capacity for 18 million.
Terminal 2 will also be built in two phases—again for 12 and 18 million passengers per year.
The minister added that Uttar Pradesh was home to the highest number of airports in India with 16 so far. NIA will be the seventeenth.
Jewar will also be Uttar Pradesh’s fifth international airport, joining Lucknow, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Kushinagar.
“I want to highlight that 50 million man hours have been put into this project till now, and not a single incident has happened. I don’t think any other project of this scale in the country can boast of this record,” Naidu said.
The minister added the airport would make Jewar—once perceived as a backward area—the center of all economic activity in western Uttar Pradesh.
“That is the kind of potential one airport has in the country…We are going to ensure the potential of this airport is fully utilised, not just in commercial operations of moving people from one place to another, but it is also strategically located to cater to cargo travel,” Naidu added.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Are flight bomb threats pranks or conspiracy? Cost of ‘hoax’ to Indian aviation is real