The first flight validation test for Noida International Airport, also called the Jewar Airport, was successfully completed on Monday.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) conducts the first flight validation test for Noida International Airport ahead of the airport’s commercial opening in April 2025.@jewar_airport @AAI_Official @zrh_airport @ANI @NIAirport @IndiaToday @PTI_News… pic.twitter.com/O5mpRCw5JJ
— jewar Airport (@jewar_airport) December 9, 2024
It was an IndiGo aircraft that took off from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and landed on Jewar Airport's runway. The plane was received with a water salute, videos showed.
Authorities expect to start operations at Noida International Airport by April 2025.
"A proud moment for India!. The first test flight has landed at Asia's largest Jewar International Airport, a testament to the nation's progress and commitment to world-class infrastructure. This milestone will revolutionize air travel, enhancing connectivity and convenience for countless travelers," former civil aviation minister and incumbent MP Praful Patel wrote on X while sharing a video of the test landing.
All security-related trials at the airport now stand completed and today's confirmed that the Jewar Airport will be ready for commercial services, officials told the press. The trial flight was originally scheduled for November 15 to assess systems such as airspace coordination, communication protocols, emergency response readiness, and runway performance. The runway at Jewar Airport is around 3.9 km long.
“We aim to complete the validation process by December 15, after which the airport concessionaire will apply for an aerodrome license, a key requirement for commercial operations,” the airport's nodal officer Shailendra Bhatia reportedly told Hindustan Times.
What you need to know about Noida's Jewar Airport
Developed by the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Swiss firm Zurich Airport International AG, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the airport in 2021. Spread across 1,334 hectares of land, it is estimated a footfall of around 1.2 crore passengers annually. The number is expected to soar past three crore by the end of the decade and seven crore in the following years, NDTV said in a report. Once open, Jewar Airport will become the second operational civil aviation airport in the National Capital Region (NCR) after IGI.