New Delhi: The National Capital Region (NCR) is set to get its second major airport soon, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granting an aerodrome licence to the upcoming Noida International Airport (NIA) on Friday.
This licence clears the final regulatory hurdle ahead of the airport’s launch. It certifies that the airport meets the safety and operational standards prescribed by the regulator, as reported by Hindustan Times.
“The airport has been licensed under the Public Use category for all-weather operations. It features a runway with orientation 10/28 and dimensions of 3,900 m × 45 m, supported by an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) system, enabling 24×7 operations. The aerodrome has parking stands for 24 Code C and 02 Code D/F aircraft and is equipped with ARFF Category 9 facilities capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER,” the Government said in a statement.
“The development of NIA is part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s broader vision for building a robust aviation ecosystem,” it said.
The development came a day after NIA received mandatory security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). Now that the airport has received the DGCA approval, cargo and domestic flight operations are expected to begin within 45 days, as mandated under the project plan.
There were delays after the BCAS flagged several issues, including concerns over potential interference with the Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (DVOR), a navigation aid that provides aircraft with bearing information relative to a ground station.
Concerns had also been raised over a steel wall constructed near the DVOR, saying it could affect the safety of aircraft during landing and take-off. BCAS questioned the makeshift structure and asked the airport operator to replace it with a permanent wall.
“While constructing the permanent wall will take a few months, BCAS has granted clearance on the condition that a permanent structure is built within six months,” an official has been quoted as saying.
Spread over 1,300 hectares in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, the airport was originally scheduled to begin operations in September 2024. It is expected to handle about 12 million passengers annually in its first phase, thereby helping in decongest the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to a certain extent.
The NIA project was awarded in October 2020 to Zurich Airport International AG, which is developing and operating the airport through its Indian subsidiary, Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), under a 40-year public-private partnership.
The project is being overseen by Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), the state-owned special purpose vehicle, on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Noida International Airport is being developed in four phases along with a multi-modal cargo hub. Upon completion of all phases, the airport will be capable of handling up to 70 million passengers per year, emerging as a major aviation hub for the National Capital Region and western Uttar Pradesh.
