Noida airport to miss April date, 2nd delay in timeline, BA

The launch of Noida International Airport will be delayed beyond the targeted commissioning date in April because work on the terminal building will not be completed in time for all the clearances to come in before passenger operations can begin.

This will be the second delay for the airport, which was earlier scheduled for launch by Oct 2024.

The airport’s progress was discussed at a meeting chaired at the site by directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) Faiz Ahmed Kidwai on Wednesday. The terminal building remains under construction. The first floor, meant for domestic passengers, is around 70 per cent complete, but the international passenger floor above it is expected to take longer.

While this means the process of clearances will begin late for the airport, international flights may not start at the same time as domestic flights. The airport, before it can begin commercial operations, needs to have an aerodrome licence from DGCA, which according to current timelines, is unlikely to happen before April 30. It will also require clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). DGCA grants an aerodrome licence based on recommendations from Airports Authority of India and BCAS.

Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL), the state govt’s special purpose vehicle overseeing the project, had earlier said the airport would start with 28 routes, 25 domestic and three international, from the first day of operations, which was set for April 17.

The meeting will be attended by Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, Tata Projects MD and CEO Vinayak Pai, civil aviation secretary V Vualnam, Zurich International Airport MD Daniel Bircher and NIA CEO Christoph Schnellmann. Tata Projects holds the engineering contracts for Noida airport. Zurich is the concessionaire for the airport. DGCA officials will also be present.

Sources said during an inspection by the chief secretary on Tuesday, it was found that the pace of construction does not align with the April deadline.

The Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), which contains details essential for air navigation, is also yet to be published. Officials said the process would be completed by Thursday. Following the publication, essential processes like ticketing services and flight scheduling can begin.

The airport’s runway, parallel taxiway, and entry-exit taxiways are fully complete. Nine aprons have also been constructed, while high-mast light installation is expected to be completed within this month. Discussions were also held on Wednesday about the transfer of airport security to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which typically requires a month to fully sanitize and secure an airport. The formal handover to CISF is likely to take place early April.

So far, DGCA inspection for the instrument landing system (ILS) calibration has been completed. Runway calibration has been completed as well. A flight validation trial was successfully conducted on Dec 9, 2024. The aerodrome licence application was submitted to DGCA on Jan 31 this year.