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IndiGo plane lands at Noida International Airport in first flight validation test | Video
The Noida International Airport, developed by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), will open for commercial operations in April 2025.
The Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) on Monday conducted its first flight validation test for the airport ahead of its commercial opening in April 2025.
This marks a major milestone for the Noida International Airport.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) reached the airport site in Jewar for the technical assessment, under the supervision of Airports Authority of India (AAI), officials had said on Sunday.
Officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry, DGCA, NIAL, and Uttar Pradesh Civil Aviation Department, including senior IAS officer SP Goyal, were lined up to supervise the flight test.
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NIAL's nodal officer Shailendra Bhatia had said that the flight would remain in air for around 1.5 hours above the Noida airport to record all the required data.
"This data will be critical for flight validation and a key step in ensuring the airport’s readiness to handle passenger services," he said.
The trial was initially scheduled to take place on November 15. The test involves landing as well as taking-off from the airport's 3.9 kilometer operational runway.
The validation test flight is also meant to examine the runway performance, airspace coordination, communication protocols, and emergency response readiness. The collected data will be submitted for review to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The authorities are aiming to complete the validation process by December 15, so that the airport concessionaire can go ahead and apply for an aerodrome license, which is a significant factor in commercial operations, Bhatia said.
The Noida International Airport project, developed by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich International AG, is currently over 85 per cent complete in its first phase.
The terminal building of the airport is near completion, following which equipment installations will also begin, NIAL officials said.
They added that the 38-metre-tall Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower is ready and its communication systems will also be put to test during the validation test.
The airport, which is spread across a 1,344 hectares land, is being developed in four phases with an investment of ₹29,650 crore.
The first phase, designed to cater to 12 million passengers per year, costs ₹10,056 crore.
The Noida International Airport will be managed by Zurich International AG for the next 40 years.
