Noida International Airport begins commercial operations, giving NCR a third aviation gateway
Noida, June 15. Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar commenced commercial operations on June 15, marking a significant milestone in India’s aviation infrastructure and providing the National Capital Region (NCR) with its third commercial airport after Delhi and Hindon.
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, became the first carrier to operate from the greenfield airport. The inaugural flight arrived from Lucknow, while the first outbound service departed for Bengaluru shortly thereafter.
The launch comes a little over two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport on March 28 and follows a series of operational readiness and testing exercises. Built at a cost of nearly ₹9,000 crore (around $1.05 billion), according to Zurich Airport International AG, the airport operator, NIA received its aerodrome licence in early March.
Akasa Air is scheduled to commence services from the airport on June 16, while the Air India Group is yet to announce its plans. Initially, the airport will handle around 12 flights a day in June before increasing operations to 40-42 daily flights in July.
For IndiGo, the launch further consolidates its presence in the NCR market, making it the only airline currently operating from all three airports in the region – Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Hindon Airport and Noida International Airport.
The airline said it plans to connect NIA with more than 16 domestic destinations and provide one-stop connectivity between several Tier 2 and Tier 3 city pairs that currently have limited direct links. These include routes involving Amritsar, Bareilly, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Jammu, Jaipur, Kishangarh, Pantnagar and Jodhpur.
“Opening of the Noida International Airport marks a new chapter in India’s aviation story. Delhi NCR now joins a select group of global megacities served by multiple airports,” Moneycontrol news website quoted Aloke Singh, Chief Strategy Officer of IndiGo, as saying.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has approved the initial passenger tariffs for the airport. For FY27, domestic passengers departing from the airport will pay a User Development Fee (UDF) of ₹490, while international departures will attract a fee of ₹980. Arriving domestic and international passengers will pay UDFs of ₹210 and ₹420, respectively.
Although operations are currently limited to domestic services, the airport plans to launch international flights in the coming months. The first phase of development has been designed to handle 12 million passengers annually, with long-term expansion plans aimed at increasing capacity to over 70 million passengers a year.
Zurich Airport International AG has projected passenger traffic of around four million in 2026. The concession period for the airport began on October 1, 2021, and will run for 40 years.
Apart from passenger services, NIA is positioning itself as a major cargo and logistics hub. Its cargo terminal will initially be capable of handling 200,000 metric tonnes annually, with plans to expand capacity to 1.5 million tonnes.
Airport officials said digital cargo solutions, including paperless freight processing and real-time shipment tracking, are expected to enhance logistics and e-commerce supply chains across northern India.
NIA Vice Chairman Christoph Schnellmann said the airport has been designed to combine operational efficiency with a superior passenger experience. The facility features DigiYatra-enabled processing, self-service check-in and baggage-drop systems, while its architecture draws inspiration from Uttar Pradesh’s cultural heritage.
Strategically located along the Yamuna Expressway, the airport is expected to boost regional connectivity, tourism, trade and investment across northern India. Its development is also expected to support the wider economic ecosystem taking shape along the Yamuna Expressway corridor, including logistics parks, industrial clusters and new urban developments.
