Noida airport conducts first flight validation test before 2025 opening | Watch

Uttar Pradesh’s Noida International Airport (NIAL), more commonly known as the Jewar Airport, successfully conducted its first flight validation test for the airport today, on December 9, according to an ANI report.
It added that this flight validation test occurred a few months before the NIAL’s official commercial opening in April 2025.
An IndiGo test flight travelled from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to NIAL and completed the final security-related analysis for the facility. Officials told the publication that the airport will now be readied for commercial operations.
The aircraft landed at NIAL sometime between 1-2 pm today (December 9) after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved all security checks, it added.
With the validation flight happening today, we are committed to finishing the airport project before the end of April, said Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu.
“Today marks a very important occasion in the progress of the airport and definitely whatever support is required from the Ministry of Civil Aviation we will continuously provide so that the early operations from the airport can begin,” he said.
According to the News18 report, the flight from Delhi to Noida remained airborne for about two hours before landing. Officials added the trip undertook “close coordination between the pilot and the air traffic controller (ATC)” and was closely monitored.
Officials said that today’s test flight had no passengers, but only crew on board the aircraft.
“The runway at Jewar Airport (around 3.9 km in length) has been specially designed with the collaboration of Zurich Airport Authority of Switzerland,” the officials told News18.
According to a Hindustan Times report citing officials, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) oversaw the exercise, and all collected data will be submitted to the DGCA for review. Supervising staff included officials from the DGCA, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), NIAL and the UP Civil Aviation Department. These officials included senior IAS officer SP Goyal.
Shailendra Bhatia, NIAL’s nodal officer, told HT that the trial was originally scheduled for November 15. The test assesses systems such as airspace coordination, communication protocols, emergency response readiness, and runway performance.
“We aim to complete the validation process by December 15, after which the airport concessionaire will apply for an aerodrome license, a key requirement for commercial operations,” Bhatia added.
Earlier milestones include the successful calibration of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) in October 2024.
(With inputs from ANI)