Noida Airport's First Phase Launched. When Will First Flight Take Off?

Commercial flight operations from the newly inaugurated Noida International Airport are expected to begin in mid-April to May 2026, with regulatory clearances and operational preparations currently underway following its formal inauguration on March 28.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath and Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, will be inaugurating the greenfield airport in Jewar on Saturday. However, officials have clarified that while the airport is now physically ready, commercial services will commence only after final approvals, including tariff clearance and airline scheduling, are completed.

The airport has already secured its aerodrome licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a key requirement for operations. Typically, airports take 45 days to two months after licensing to complete coordination with airlines, ground handlers, and other stakeholders before launching passenger flights. 

The Noida International Airport, also assigned the IATA code DXN, is being developed as a major alternative aviation hub for the Delhi-NCR region, aimed at reducing congestion at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. 

Spread across over 1,300 hectares, the airport's first phase includes one runway and a terminal capable of handling around 12 million passengers annually. In its final form, the airport is planned to have up to five runways and a capacity of 70 million passengers per year by 2040, positioning it among Asia's largest aviation hubs. 

Officials say operations will begin with limited domestic flights in the initial phase, likely during daytime hours, before gradually expanding to full-scale domestic and international services. International operations are expected to be introduced later in 2026 once the airport stabilises its initial rollout.