Noida International Airport begins commercial operations; first flight dedicated to 170 Jewar farmers

Commercial flight operations began at the newly built Noida International Airport on June 15, 2026, with the first flight dedicated to the farmers of Jewar. Built in Jewar along the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority region, the airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2026.

First flight from the Noida International Airport

Noida International Airport began its commercial flight on Monday, operations as its first scheduled IndiGo flight 6E-2278 arrived from Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, and landed at 8:05 am. The inaugural flight carried a group of around 170 farmers who gave up their ancestral land for the Noida International Airport project.

After landing at Lucknow, farmers and their families will meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to express their gratitude. Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation, embarks on this dream as a reality that was envisioned ten years ago. The airport's first commercial service is operated by Indigo and is scheduled to operate to Bengaluru

Key gateway for the development of UP: Naidu

Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu, present at the first flight, lauded the Noida International Airport project for being a key gateway for the development of western Uttar Pradesh. The airport will provide direct connectivity to all major locations in Uttar Pradesh and the NCR region. As per Naidu, this will create more opportunities for various sectors and several industries
This includes IT, hospitality, cargo, and electronics. According to the union minister, this project will bring employment opportunities across the region, creating a space for an industrial boom.

Future takeaways

As per Ram Mohan Naidu, within the next few months, Noida will be connected to 12-14 new destinations. Cargo operations and MRO, which means maintenance, repair and overhaul services, will play a significant role at this airport. Union Minister Naidu emphasised that the Made in India civil aviation aircraft will soon help bridge the shortage of connecting flights.

Naidu said that India's airport network has expanded from 74 airports to 164 airports, and this number is expected to double over the next 10–15 years. The need for new airports is emerging in every city.

Project expansion and development

The airport has been constructed for phased expansion; according to the current roadmap, the annual passenger capacity is projected to increase to 30 million by 2031, 50 million by 2036 and 70 million by 2040. The airport is expected to require additional infrastructure and operational requirements for maintenance.

June 15 flight schedule for Noida International Airport

A total of six flight operations have been scheduled for the entire day; these include flights from Jewar to Lucknow, Jewar to Bengaluru between 8:00 am and 10:00 am, Jewar to Jammu and Jewar to Amritsar between 10:00 am and 12:00 am, and the last session between 14:00 and 16:00, which includes flights from Jewar to Hyderabad and Bengaluru .