Noida International Airport will begin commercial flight operations for both domestic and international destinations on April 17, next year.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) — the govt’s special purpose vehicle for the project — on Tuesday. Yamuna International Airport Ltd, a subsidiary of Swiss airports giant Zurich AG, presented a detailed timeline outlining the key clearances required for the airport’s opening.
“The concessionaire submitted a plan for commercial operations to begin by April 17.”
We will, however, try to push the date of launch forward. The timeline is critical because any deviations from the April 17, deadline could result a further six month delay in securing approvals and time slots for international flights from the International Air Transport Association.
The airport — the second such facility in Delhi-NCR — was initially scheduled to begin operations by the end of Sept this year, with plans for up to 65 daily flights — 62 on domestic routes, two for international destinations and a cargo flight.
Singh said on Tuesday that there is little chance of a change in the number of flights next year. He said that talks had already been initiated with IATA regarding international slots and DGCA regarding domestic routes.
“Airlines have already filed applications for international destinations.”
The approval of routes will be dependent on bilateral licensing agreements between countries and airlines. The domestic allocation with DGCA will take place in the middle of this week. The slots will then be determined,” he stated.
Singh insisted at least one flight will depart for an international destination the day after the launch. The NIAL CEO, when asked about the progress of the NIAL project, said that flight trials, including those conducted at the Airports Authority of India, were scheduled for November 30.
“Code C aircraft” will participate in trials in accordance with the approval requirements. IndiGo and Akasa Air will conduct full crew flight tests in order to evaluate runway readiness, and validate operational systems before the launch,” he said.
The meeting took place on Tuesday in response to a recent letter by the Civil Aviation Ministry, which stressed that the finalisation of flight scheduling and the conduct of necessary trials were needed before the launch.
Officials stated that DGCA has already inspected various calibrations while the instrument landing systems (ILS) were set for testing from Oct 4 to 6. By Oct. 10, DGCA will also receive a comprehensive report on the runway, while all other documentation necessary for flight procedures is due on Nov. 15. DGCA approvals for flight trials are scheduled for November 25.
Officials said that YIAPL will apply for a licence to operate an aerodrome in December. The licence will be issued around the middle of March. IATA’s website will have other important information, such as codes and details of booking, by Feb 6.
“Ticket bookings for international flights can be made up to 90-days in advance and for domestic flights, up to 60-days. “You can expect to see booking slots open in January or February,” Singh said.
After the meeting on February 2, a report on flight schedules was submitted to Ministry of Aviation.
The first phase will cover 1,334 acres in Jewar and include a runway, terminal, and parking lot designed to accommodate up to 12 million passengers per year. The project will be expanded to four phases, including multiple hubs.
