Uttar Pradesh cabinet passes resolution to rename Noida airport after PM Modi

Once implemented, the Noida airport will become the first airport to be named after a sitting Prime Minister.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Friday passed a resolution to rename the Noida International Airport in Jewar as Narendra Modi International Airport, Noida-Jewar chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced after chairing the cabinet meeting.

PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of the greenfield Noida International Airport at Jewar on November 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Once implemented, it will become the first airport to be named after a sitting Prime Minister. Other airports — Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi; Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport, Lucknow; and Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Varanasi — are all named after former PMs.

Mark of 25 years of service

Adityanath said the cabinet also extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing a total of 25 years as the head of the government, first in Gujarat and then at the Centre.

“The state cabinet is grateful to the Prime Minister for gifting the Noida International Airport to Uttar Pradesh, which is the state’s largest airport and going to become India’s largest aviation hub. In the coming years, this airport will take the state’s economy, industry, tourism and global connectivity to new heights. With this sentiment, the state cabinet is adopting the resolution recommending renaming of the airport as the Narendra Modi International Airport,” Adityanath said in a press conference at Lucknow.

Deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, along with Adityanath’s ministerial colleagues representing the BJP allies — Sanjay Nishad of NISHAD party, Om Prakash Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Ashish Patel of Apna Dal (Sonelal) party, and Anil Kumar of Rashtriya Lok Dal — were present at the cabinet’s meeting.

Developed as the second international airport for the Delhi-NCR region under a public-private partnership between the UP government and Zurich Airport International AG, it aims to heavily boost regional logistics and connectivity.

PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of the greenfield Noida International Airport at Jewar on November 25, 2021. He officially inaugurated its Phase-I on March 28, 2026. Commercial flights started from June 15.

Adityanath said Modi completing 25 years in public service on October 7 added a “glorious chapter to India’s democratic history”. He also listed the state government’s achievements and the projects launched under the BJP-led state government.

Taking a jibe at the UP government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Uttar Pradesh administration is naming things after the Prime Minister because their “own chair” is about to be snatched away.

Speaking to reporters at an event in Deoria, Yadav said, “This Chief Minister is known for changing names. They are naming things after the Prime Minister because their own chair is about to be snatched away. Those who are leaving want to put someone else’s name so that they leave a mark. The double-engine government has not done any work for the public. People who are leaving only want to leave their name as a reminder.”