Officials confirmed  that the Noida International Airport (NIA) located in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh will start its commercial operations in mid-May. Through its northern India location, the airport will begin domestic services in May before introducing international flights in June. Company CEO Arun Vir Singh from NIAL disclosed to The Indian Express that YIAPL as the concessionaire received directions from the state government to expedite construction for domestic flights from May 15 up to May 31 and international services from June 15 to June 25.

The officials initially set the opening date for the first airport phase as September 29, 2024, but decided to advance it to April 17, 2024. The aerodrome license faces another delay since it is now expected to be issued in May. Yogi Adityanath led the review meeting on March 10 as Uttar Pradesh chief minister to evaluate the ongoing development, as reported by Moneycontrol.

As quoted by Moneycontrol, Chief Executive Officer of Noida International Airport Limited, Arun Vir Singh mentioned that “During the meeting, the concessionaire was asked to follow the terms of the contract agreement on delay penalties. A decision was taken to impose the stipulated fine of Rs 10 lakh per day on YIAPL.”

He also mentioned that “During the meeting, we requested YIAPL to present a ‘catch-up’ plan to ensure that flight operations do not miss the third revised deadline. They met with the Chief Secretary and provided their explanation. The plan will be submitted by April 2.”

The Uttar Pradesh government designated YIAPL as the developer for this project since the company serves as Zurich Airport International AG’s fully owned subsidiary. The 40-year concession agreement between YIAPL started its operation from October 1, 2021 to run and maintain the facility. The CEO discussed a strategic meeting which included Airports Authority of India officials and Directorate General of Civil Aviation representatives to develop plans for future course of action.