Jewar in Uttar Pradesh is set to get its new Noida International Airport. The first validation test flight for the upcoming airport was conducted successfully on Monday. This validation test verified all the safety and regulatory standards inside the upcoming airport in Delhi NCR. Situated approximately 75 km from Central Delhi, the Noida International Airport will start its commercial operations as soon as April next year.
A Greenfield Airport
Most of the land surrounding Delhi NCR is used for farming and real estate. Still, there is the availability of land that has not been previously developed or polluted and shows the potential of having full-fledged industrial, commercial or residential construction. These lands are called Greenfields. The upcoming Noida International Airport (NIA) situated at Jewar, Gautam Budh Nagar, will be one of the key steps towards commercial Greenfield Airport operations in UP.
The validation flight tested and certified the airport approaching and departure procedure for the aircraft. Alongside this, the navigation and communication system for the new runway was also tested.
“The flight conducted by IndiGo, the launch carrier for the airport, verified the airport approach procedures, confirming the accuracy and functionality of its navigation aids and air traffic control system. This crucial step demonstrates NIA’s adherence to the stringent safety and operational standards required for commercial operations. Following the validation test, NIA will finalise the required documentation for aerodrome certification and submit it to the directorate general of civil aviation, DGCA,” read the official statement by Noida International Airport.
The aerodrome license is the final approval from DGCA to operate as an airport. Late in August this year, the NIA chief executive officer, Christoph Schnellmann, said that the aerodrome license application for the new airport would be taken up by the authorities in December.
The New Airport
NIA will be the second most important airport in the capital region after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport situated approximately 90 km from it. Due to delays in the delivery of certain construction materials and equipment, because of global supply chain constraints, the timeline for opening the new airport shifted from this year to the next. However, much work like the calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) was successfully completed in October by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). These are critical steps pertaining to runway operations before validating flights. Other airport-supporting infrastructure and terminal service services are in the advanced stage of development.
The new airport is also seeing considerable interest from airlines, both domestic and international, for operations. However Schnellman in August pointed out that domestic carriers for the new airport have already been signed up with Indigo and Akasa Air. These airlines were also keen to start international flights from the new Greenfield airport.
The NIA chief is in talks with Air India and other domestic as well as international carriers for flight operations from the new airport.
Phasing In
The new airport will operationalise in phases with one runway and one terminal part of the first phase which will be able to handle passengers up to 1.2 crore annually. Finally, after reaching the fourth phase, the airport will have an expanded capacity to manage 70 million passengers per year.
The project is equally important for the Uttar Pradesh government. The state government has given the responsibility of developing the new airport to the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, YIAPL. The company is a subsidiary of Zürich Airport International AG. The new airport will enjoy a 40-year concession period that started on October 1, 2021. The project is expected to assist Indira Gandhi International Airport in serving the huge demand of the greater Delhi and western UP area. Now, these regions will also be connected with flights, complementing the biggest airport in Delhi.
