NOIDA: Commercial flight operations commenced at Noida International Airport in Jewar on Monday, marking a significant milestone in India’s aviation infrastructure development and the beginning of services at Delhi-NCR’s second international airport.Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated operations at the airport, which is expected to emerge as a major aviation hub for the National Capital Region.The airport welcomed its first scheduled commercial flight — IndiGo flight 6E-2278 from Lucknow — on Monday morning. Shortly afterwards, 170 farmers from the Jewar region, including 20 women who had given up their land for the airport project, boarded a special inaugural flight to Lucknow, symbolising the transformation of farmland into one of India’s largest greenfield airports.Led by Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, the farmers landed in Lucknow and are scheduled to meet Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to thank him for the project, which is expected to boost connectivity and economic activity across western Uttar Pradesh and the NCR.“The very farmers who once cultivated these lands have now undertaken their first air journey from the international airport built on them. It is a historic moment for Jewar, Uttar Pradesh and the nation,” Singh said.Built at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore under the public-private partnership model, Noida International Airport has been developed as the second international airport serving Delhi-NCR, complementing operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport.The first phase includes a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft and modern navigation systems designed to support round-the-clock operations in all weather conditions.The airport is expected to serve passengers from Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut and other districts of western Uttar Pradesh, as well as parts of Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand, significantly enhancing regional and international connectivity.
