The landing trial at the upcoming international airport in Greater Noida will mark a critical step towards its operational readiness, Noida International Airport’s Chief Executive Officer Christoph Schnellmann told businessline.

Notably, the landing trial is scheduled to take place on Monday. The upcoming airport features a 3.9 km long runway, 10-28.

According to Schnellmann, a single validation flight is scheduled to take place. “If successful, no additional validation flights will be necessary.”

In technical parlance, a validation flight is a key component of the airport’s certification process, as it tests essential procedures and infrastructure.

Moreover, the airport’s efforts to secure its aerodrome license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) depend on the successful validation flight.

The original plan called for this validation flight to be completed by the end of November 2024. However, delays have pushed the trial into early December.

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The validation flight will test approach and departure procedures to the new runway.

Once the validation flight is completed and deemed successful, the DGCA will conduct a thorough inspection of the airport’s compliance with safety and operational standards.

This inspection will include reviewing the airport’s infrastructure readiness and reviewing established flight procedures before issuing the coveted aerodrome license, which is essential for the airport to begin full-scale operations.

In October 2024, the airport completed a crucial calibration of these systems using a Beech King Air 360 ER aircraft from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The calibration, which was conducted between October 10 and 14, confirmed that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) systems were fully operational.

These technologies are vital for ensuring safe operations, especially in low-visibility conditions.

The ILS provides precise guidance to pilots during approach and landing, ensuring proper alignment with the runway and safe descent paths.

On the other hand, the PAPI lights give pilots visual cues to maintain the correct descent angle, further enhancing landing safety.

Together, these systems are designed to help maintain operational efficiency and reduce delays caused by adverse weather conditions such as fog or heavy rain.

Meanwhile, the first commercial flight from the Noida International Airport is expected to be operated from April 2025.

However, the airport has missed its earlier completion deadline of the end of 2024 due to sourcing constraints of materials like structural steel.

The first phase of the airport, with one runway and one terminal with the capacity to handle traffic of 12 million passengers annually.

After the completion of the fourth phase, the airport will have the capacity to manage 70 million passengers per year.

It is expected that airline major IndiGo will be the launch or the first airline to start services from the upcoming airport.

The airline has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NIA.

On the international front, many foreign carriers have also shown interest in starting operations at the airport once it gets operational.