Despite consistent push from the highest authorities, the ambitious Noida International Airport (NIA) project on the outskirts of Delhi is set to be delayed again. This, despite the Union Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu emphatically declaring recently that the airport, slated eventually to become India’s biggest and one of the largest in the world, will be inaugurated this week.
That date, October 30, will come and pass, but Noida International Airport’s best-case scenario now looks like an inauguration in a month or at least mid-December, if all goes according to plan. And actual flight operations starting perhaps even later.
“Progressing steadily towards operational readiness” was all that officials with Noida Airport would say, as they reeled off a series of achievements in a statement released on Monday — validation flight completed last December and security clearance from BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) done, the airport is expecting the aerodrome license from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) early this week, following which airlines could start planning flight schedules and start selling them online and through travel agents.
Noida Airport, once open, will be the third commercial airport to serve India’s National Capital Region (after Indira Gandhi International on the Delhi-Gurugram border and Hindon in Ghaziabad) and perhaps the most ambitious — in planning for decades, the airport is expected not just to spur an aviation boom in the country, but also blow tailwinds to western Uttar Pradesh as an economic engine for this part of the country.
The first phase of the airport, with one terminal and one runway, can handle a maximum capacity of 1.2 crore passengers. Once that is near capacity, the airport will start construction of the second terminal, which will be a mirror image of the initial terminal. The max capacity then would be three crore passengers, which will rise up to five crore once a third terminal is added eventually.
The expected timeline is that by 2040, the fourth terminal would also be complete, along with multiple runways and a total passenger capacity of seven crore per year, making NIA India’s biggest airport and the fourth largest in the world.
The delays in construction had seen the UP government even impose a fine of Rs 10 lakh per day since earlier this year. In fact, the airport has had a long history of delays, right from the first time the idea came about, to during the actual construction. In fact, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in 2021, the airport has seen its opening pushed back at least four times — the first opening deadline was September 29 last year, which was pushed to April of this year, following which it was pushed to June 30. The aviation minister then declared that the inauguration ceremony will take place on October 30, that should have been this week, though now the most feasible date seems to be late next month or in December.
Uttar Praesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is placing a lot of his bets on the development of the politically influential but economically backward state on the airport’s fruition has been an impatient man. This Sunday, he did a survey of the airport’s status, after which he is said to have called on the prime minister asking him to chair the inauguration ceremony.
Construction of the aeronautical infrastructure, including the runway, is complete,” the statement by NIA on Monday said, adding, “In the passenger terminal building, roofing work has been finalised, and finishing works and technical installations are underway. In parallel, a comprehensive Operational Readiness Activation and Transition (ORAT) programme is being implemented to ensure all systems, processes, and personnel are fully prepared for operations. This includes trial runs, simulations, and familiarisation programmes for airlines, ground handlers, and other key stakeholders. Tests are underway on the baggage handling system, security equipment, check-in counters, and boarding gates.”