Noida airport starts outreach to airlines for ticket bookings

Noida International Airport has started airline outreach for bookings, aiming for June commercial operations after receiving security program approval.

GREATER NOIDA: The Noida International Airport has begun outreach to airlines for ticket booking, a day after receiving approval for its Aerodrome Security Programme (ASP) from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) — a clearance that starts a mandatory 45-day countdown before commercial flight operations can begin, putting the latest possible start date in the second week of June.

IndiGo is expected to operate the highest number of flights in the initial phase, while Akasa Air, which announced in January that it would base aircraft at the airport, will operate both domestic and international routes. (HT Photos)

IndiGo, according to a memorandum signed in 2023, will be the launch carrier at the airport, a spokesperson confirmed, with Akasa Air and Air India Express also committed to operating flights. Airlines from the West Asia and Southeast Asia have expressed interest in international routes. “We anticipate most flights to be domestic initially, with international operations starting in a few months as domestic operations stabilise,” the spokesperson said.

Initial domestic routes under discussion include Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

The airport said a booking start date has not yet been finalised. Tariff rates approved on an ad hoc basis in August 2025 remain valid until the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) issues a final tariff order.

Airport officials are expected to meet IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa Air next week to review flight plans and slots, with commercial operations anticipated to begin in June, an official said, asking not to be named.

IndiGo is expected to operate the highest number of flights in the initial phase, while Akasa Air, which announced in January that it would base aircraft at the airport, will operate both domestic and international routes. Air India Express is expected to commence twice-daily flights between Noida and Bengaluru — one morning, one evening — though no dates have been finalised.

“Tatas will initially begin its Air India Express operations from Noida airport,” a second official said, asking not to be named.

Describing the ASP approval as “an important milestone”, the spokesperson said the airport will now “work closely with airlines and partners to finalise a mutually aligned date for the commencement of commercial operations”.

“Our efforts remain focused on ensuring that all systems, processes, and personnel are fully prepared to deliver a safe, efficient, and seamless start of operations.”

Akasa Air, which began its nationwide operations in 2022, has also committed to setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport. IndiGo, which signed an MoU in November 2023 to serve as launch carrier, conducted a validation flight in December 2024 to test approach procedures and air traffic control systems.

“Yamuna International Airport Private Limited has been working to complete the laid down procedures to start bookings and operations,” said RK Singh, chief executive officer of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), the state-promoted authority that owns the land on which the airport is built. The airport is developed and operated by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Swiss firm Zurich Airport International AG, under a concession agreement with NIAL.

The airport’s first phase will operate with one runway and one terminal, with a capacity of 12 million passengers annually. At full build-out across four phases, capacity will reach 70 million passengers per year. The concession period, under which YIAPL operates the airport, commenced on October 1, 2021 and runs for 40 years.

The ASP approval comes amid a leadership transition at YIAPL. Earlier this month, the ministry of home affairs refused to amend a 2011 BCAS aviation security order mandating that the chief executive of every greenfield airport in India be an Indian national — a rule that disqualified YIAPL’s Swiss CEO Christoph Schnellmann, who had led the company since August 2020. Following BCAS’s written communication of the MHA’s decision to the airport, YIAPL appointed Nitu Samra, its chief financial officer since October 2021, as interim CEO.

Schnellmann moved to the company’s board as executive vice chairman.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport on March 28 after the aerodrome licence was issued.