The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is conducting flight tests at Noida Airport, focusing on passenger and aircraft safety, as a final step before issuing its aerodrome licence.
For the past three days, the DGCA, in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other agencies, has been conducting inspections. The tests, which began on Monday, have focused on the airport's security as well as the navigation and communication systems used for aircraft landings and takeoffs.
So far, all systems have been found to be in accordance with established international standards. Daily reports on the testing are being compiled and sent to the DGCA.
With the necessary inspections of navigation and communication equipment nearing completion, the agencies are preparing for the next phase: the successful landing and takeoff of a mini aircraft. This test flight, which may occur on Thursday, is referred to as calibration testing.
Shailendra Bhatia, Nodal Officer for NIAL, stated that the inspection of navigation and communication equipment installed on the runway and in the ATC tower is ongoing. The systems under review include:
- Instrument Landing System (ILS)
- Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
- Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR)
- Air Traffic Control (ATC) equipment
Shailendra Bhatia confirmed that after the inspection of these systems is complete, the aircraft's landing and takeoff (calibration testing) will be carried out. The completion of this flight test will finalise the testing procedures, clearing the way for the DGCA to issue the aerodrome licence based on its final report.