Come March, 30 flights will take off and land at the Noida Airport, ahead of the initial date of April 17, said Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) CEO Arun Vir Singh.

If you live in Sector 134 in Noida, should you opt for the Noida International Airport coming up in Jewar, or the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi to catch a flight? Consider the time and distance — it will take you 55 minutes to cover nearly 58 km via the Yamuna Expressway to reach the Noida airport and nearly an hour to cover a distance of 34 km to reach the Indira Gandhi Airport.

At present, connectivity between parts of Western UP, Noida, Ghaziabad and East Delhi, and the Noida airport is a challenge. But the construction of a 32-km stretch on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to fix that, as early as December.

This means that for people living in Bulandshahr, Hathras, Palwal, and those who are residents of Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, the Noida airport may turn out to be a better option as compared to the IGI Airport in Delhi.

Construction of this 32-km section, connecting Delhi and Haryana with the Noida airport, by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already begun and is in the last phase of development. “It will be operable in December. This will benefit many cities of Delhi, Haryana and UP,” said a senior official with the Noida International Airport Limited.

Come March, 30 flights will take off and land at the Noida Airport, ahead of the initial date of April 17, said Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) CEO Arun Vir Singh.

Other plans to boost connectivity

According to officials, plans are afoot to connect the two airports.

“The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has prepared a detailed project report of Rs 20,637 crore for the development of a 72.44-km Rapid Rail-cum-Metro Project, connecting several parts of Delhi with the Noida International Airport. It has been approved by the UP government and a proposal has been sent to the Ministry of Urban Affairs, Government of India, for its appraisal,” an official told The Indian Express on Monday.

“This Rapid Rail will connect Noida airport and Ghaziabad RRTS, which is further connected to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi on one side and Meerut on the other,” Singh had said.

“The Metro will run between Noida and Greater Noida and a Light Rail Transit (LRT) will ply between the upcoming film city in Greater Noida’s Sector 21 and the Noida airport,” said the CEO.

Earlier this month, The Indian Express reported that preparations for the second stage of trials at the Noida Airport are set to begin on November 15. In this stage, 30 flights of Akasa, IndiGo, and flights owned by the Airports Authority of India will take off and land daily till December 15.

Singh had said the 30 flights will include three international flights – for Zurich, Singapore and Dubai – and two cargo flights. Twenty-five are domestic flights and will link cities like Lucknow, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dehradun and others.

Last week, Singh said that the Director General of Civil Aviation had given the nod for the operation of calibration flights after approvals were obtained.