Noida International Airport to Begin Domestic and International Flights from April 2025

From April 17, 2025, Noida International Airport is ready for domestic and international flights.

The announcement was made after a high-level meeting chaired by Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) on Tuesday (October 1). At the meeting, Yamuna International Airport Limited (YIAPL) presented a detailed timeline outlining the key approvals required for the launch of the airport.

The greenfield airport, which is being built at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, is being built to enhance domestic and international connectivity from the Delhi-National Capital Region, Noida, and western Uttar Pradesh.

Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, is developing the airport in partnership with the state government, which will become India’s largest airport upon completion.

“The concessionaire has submitted plans to start commercial operations by April 17,” said Arun Vir Singh, CEO of NIAL. “However, we will try to postpone the release date.”

He said the deadline needed to be met to avoid delays in getting international approval from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and getting time slots, which could be postponed by up to six months.

The upcoming airport, the second major facility in the Delhi-NCR region, scheduled to be operational by September, will handle 65 daily flights (62 domestic, two international, and one cargo).

This flight schedule is likely to remain unchanged for the launch next year, Singh said, adding that discussions have begun with IATA on international slots and with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on domestic routes.

“Airlines have already submitted applications for international destinations, but approval of routes will depend on bilateral licensing agreements between countries and airlines,” Singh said. A domestic allocation meeting will be held with the DGCA in the middle of this month, which will determine the slots. Singh further said that at least one foreign flight will be operated on the day of the airport’s launch.

Singh informed about the progress of the airport that flight trials, which are carried out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), are scheduled to take place on November 30.

“Code C aircraft will participate in the trials to meet approval requirements, while partner airlines such as IndiGo and Akasa Air will conduct flight trials with full crew to evaluate runway readiness and validate operational systems,” Moneycontrol reported.

The meeting was held after the Civil Aviation Ministry recently issued a letter seeking necessary trials before the flight schedule is finalised and resumed. Officials said the DGCA has already looked at several systems, while the Instrument Landing System (ILS) will be tested from October 4 to 6.

Besides, a detailed runway report will be submitted to the DGCA by October 10, and flight procedure document by November 15. The DGCA is expected to give approval for the flight test by November 25.

YIAPL will apply for an aerodrome licence in December, which will be issued by mid-March. Other necessary airport details, including code and booking information, will be put up on the IATA website by February 6.

“Ticket booking for international flights will start 90 days in advance, while domestic bookings will be available up to 60 days in advance,” Singh said. “One can expect the slots to open up in January or February.”

Spread over an area of ​​1,334 hectares and costing Rs 5,700 crore, the airport’s first phase will initially have one runway and terminal capable of handling 12 million passengers per year.

The next phases are expected to expand the airport’s capacity to two runways and a terminal to handle 70 million passengers, with the total project costing Rs 29,561 crore.

When the airport reaches 80 per cent of its annual capacity of 12 million passengers, its first expansion, construction of a second runway and terminal building, will begin.

When the number of passengers increases from 12 million to 30 million, 50 million and 70 million, construction of the third, fourth and fifth runways will begin.