As air traffic grows in India, airlines are looking for new airports, and airports are looking for new airlines to connect. The need for a second airport has emerged in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. However, the second airport first came up in Goa, somehow. Delhi will see the second airport in the satellite city of NOIDA in 2024. Or at least, that is the plan.

Noida will have IndiGo become the launch carrier.

Noida International Airport (NIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IndiGo, India’s largest airline today. With this development, IndiGo became the launch carrier for the airport.

Under this arrangement, NIA and IndiGo will work together to develop and strengthen air connectivity within Uttar Pradesh and beyond. The partnership will also explore new and innovative ideas to gain operational efficiency and enhanced customer experience.

Mr Christoph Schnellmann, Chief Executive Officer of Noida International Airport, said

We are excited to sign this MoU with IndiGo, which has a strong base both in domestic and international markets. The partnership between NIA and IndiGo will not only help bolster air connectivity but also innovate, ensuring an exceptional customer experience for our customers alike. By leveraging IndiGo’s extensive route network and expertise, we aim to provide our passengers with unparalleled connectivity and an exceptional travel experience.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo, said,

We are thrilled to announce our MoU with Noida International Airport, to become the launch carrier at the upcoming airport. As India’s leading airline, IndiGo has always been at the forefront of enhancing connectivity and giving wings to the nation. Our operations at NIA will provide the people of Uttar Pradesh with seamless connectivity across our unparalleled network. We look forward to the inauguration of the new airport in 2024 and will continue to work with NIA management to explore innovative ways to deliver an affordable, on-time, and hassle-free travel experience across the 6E network.

The first phase of the Noida International Airport will be operational by the end of 2024, with one runway and one terminal capable of handling traffic of 12 million passengers annually. After completing the fourth phase, the airport will have the capacity to manage 70 million passengers per year.

This is an important milestone for the airport. Unlike in Mumbai, where both the airports (the existing one and the one upcoming in Navi Mumbai) will be managed by the same airport operator, in Delhi NCR, the first airport (DEL) is operated by GMR Airports and Noida Airport (DXN) will be managed by an entity being led by Zurich International Airport. So, while in Mumbai, the airlines will do well to cooperate with the airport operator to get good terms, in Delhi NCR, they can be played off against each other for competitive terms. Or at least DXN will have to have some airline/s backing it while it builds up traffic.

You can already see the competition in Goa, where some airlines have moved lock, stock and barrel to GOX from the erstwhile GOI. While this will not happen with Delhi as it is more “central” than Noida, the expansionary traffic will be fought for between the airports.

Bottomline

The new Noida International Airport, expecting to start operations in 2024, will see IndiGo launch flights from the new airport as the first carrier. NIA expects to launch operations in 2024 and will handle about 12 million passengers annually in the first year.

What do you think of IndiGo joining forces with Noida International Airport?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.