Noida International airport set to open by April 17, 2025

The highly-awaited Noida International airport (NIAL), the twin airport of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport, will begin commercial operations for domestic as well as international routes by April 17, 2025. 

This timeline is extremely critical as any further delay than this will lead to a further six-month delay in securing international approvals and time slots from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) informed Arun Vir Singh, chief executive of NIAL. 

The concessionaire has submitted a plan for April 17 to begin the operations but airport management aims to launch prior to the deadline. 

The airport authorities have already initiated talks with IATA for international slots and DGCA for domestic routes. If all the things go as per plan, flight trials by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will be conducted by November 30, 2024 followed by commercial flight tests involving three to four flights, including international and domestic carriers like Indigo and Akasa.

The deadline was fixed after a high-level meeting led by Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL). During the meeting, Yamuna International Airport Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Swiss airports giant Zurich AG, presented a detailed timeline outlining the necessary clearances for the airport's launch.

The civil aviation ministry has already set the ball rolling by instructing NIAL and various related authorities to confirm and lock flight schedules, critical timelines etc. 

Further, NIAL will apply for Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures and aerodrome licensing in December 2024, with the aim of securing the DGCA licence by March 2025. 

The booking code, part of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) system, will be published by February 6, after which ticket bookings will commence.

Key officials from ministry of civil aviation, DGCA and Airports Authority of India are on a lookout for the preparations for flight scheduling. 

NIAL has installed CAT I and CAT III ILS systems on its two runways, and final calibrations by DGCA officials are expected by mid-October.

Many domestic as well as international airlines have applied to operate flights. The slots for domestic carriers will be allocated during an upcoming October meeting while the details of oversees carries will be out post approvals. 

The airport was initially stated to become operational by September 2024.