Noida Airport Inauguration Postponed For Fifth Time; Here's What Happened

The construction agency tasked with building the Noida International Airport has once again put the inauguration of the airport on hold, as reported by Jagran.com. Earlier, the construction agency had hastened the inauguration without completing the work and had deceived the Chief Minister about the progress of the project.

This prompted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to set the inauguration date for December 9. According to official sources, quoted by Jagran.com, the date had been finalised by the PMO, and a pandal had been erected at the venue along with a large number of chairs.

But all the preparations were dashed to the ground due to the incomplete work, which led the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to deny security clearance to the airport. Due to this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not issue the aerodrome license until December 4th, which postponed the inauguration date for the fifth time.

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Noida International Airport: Reasons For Postponement

- The foundation stone of the Noida International Airport was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25, 2021.

- The project was set to be completed in three years, in September 2024. But due to the slow progress of the work, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reprimanded officials on March 10 and set a deadline for domestic flights to begin by May 15, 2025 and international flights to begin by June 13, 2025.

- However, the Yamuna International Private Limited, which was assigned to complete the work, still failed to do so.

- Following this, the state government set a new, firm target of completing the project by November 30.

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- To ensure readiness, the Additional Chief Secretary and Chief Secretary inspected the construction, and CM Yogi Adityanath personally visited the airport twice within a month.

- During the Chief Minister's visit, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and CISF teams pointed out security deficiencies, including the emergency exit gate, watch tower, and boundary wall.

- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed the BCAS to rectify all remaining deficiencies submit a security clearance report to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after their final inspection on December 2.

- Ultimately, the DGCA denied the airport an aerodrome license because the required timely report on the rectifications was not submitted.