Noida International Airport Conducts Maiden Calibration Flight, Prepares For September-End Launch

A crucial milestone in the operationalisation of the Noida International Airport was marked on Thursday (18 April) with the completion of its inaugural calibration flight.

Test flights, or calibration flights, are carried out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to ensure the proper functioning of navigation systems like the instrument landing system. They are an important prerequisite to obtaining a licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for starting flights.

"A bright and sunny day at #NIAirport set the perfect stage for a DVOR calibration flight, the first of many. The Beechcraft King Air B300 took to the skies, to ensure all @aai_official navigation equipment works flawlessly. #FromTheGroundUp," the Noida International Airport said on X.

The greenfield airport which is under construction in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar and will serve as the second airport for the National Capital Region (NCR), will start seeing test flights in mid-2024 and commercial operations by the end of that year, according to its CEO Christoph Schnellman.

The airport is being developed by Swiss company Zurich Airport, which has built nine other airports, most of which are in Latin America.

When it opens in late 2024, the airport will have one runway and terminal, capable of serving 12 million passengers per year and managing 1 lakh aircraft movements (aircraft movements include landings as well as departures. One departure and one arrival is counted as two aircraft movements).

The airport's capacity will increase in four stages over 30 years, from 12 million to 30 million, then to 52 million, and finally to 70 million passengers per year.