Greater Noida: A special tribute to the farmers whose land is being used for the construction of the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar has been announced. The Uttar Pradesh government confirmed that these farmers will be the first passengers aboard the airport’s inaugural flight, once the facility is operational.
In a move to recognise their contribution to the ambitious project, the farmers will join a special IndiGo flight on the day the airport opens. The flight, scheduled to travel from Noida to Lucknow, will also be attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries, who will accompany the farmers on this historic journey, according to a report by News 18.
In addition, the second flight from the new airport will also be dedicated to these farmers. This flight, which will carry 210 passengers, will prioritise those farmers who directly gave up their land for the airport’s development, allowing them to experience air travel as a part of the airport’s grand opening.
This thoughtful gesture highlights the importance of the farmers in making the Noida International Airport a reality, and ensures that they will be the first to benefit from the infrastructure they helped create.
The construction work of the Jewar Airport by the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) is in the advanced stages of completion as the airport prepares to begin flight operations on April 17, 2025, which means nearly six months. Now, according to fresh information, the operations will commence with a total of 30 flights to different locations across the globe.
Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer, NIAL said that 25 of these flights will be domestic while three will have international destinations and two planes will be cargo. "The international flights will be for Zurich, Singapore, and Dubai, while domestic services will be for Lucknow, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dehradun, Hubli, and others. The final schedule is likely to be announced shortly," the CEO added, quoted an HT report.
Notably, NIAL is the nodal agency entrusted by the Uttar Pradesh government to oversee the construction and operations of the airport.
The NIAL said that Jewar airport's partner airlines, i.e. IndiGo and Akasa Air are in touch with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for domestic routes. The airlines are also talking with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for international destinations, the report further added.