Civil aviation in India, the world's third-largest civil aviation market as of 2020, [1] traces its origin back to 1911, when the first commercial civil aviation flight took off from a polo ground in Allahabad carrying mail across the Yamuna river to Naini. [2]
Air India is India's national flag carrier, having merged with Indian Airlines in 2007 [3] and plays a major role in connecting India with the rest of the world. [4] IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and Spicejet are the major carriers in order of their market share. [5] These airlines connect more than 80 cities across India and also operate overseas routes after the liberalisation of Indian aviation. Several other foreign airlines connect Indian cities with other major cities across the globe. However, a large section of country's air transport potential remains untapped, even though the Mumbai–Delhi air corridor is ranked the world's third-busiest route. [6]
India is the third-largest civil aviation market in the world as of 2021. [7] It recorded an air traffic of 376 million passengers in fiscal year 2024, of which 306 million were domestic passengers. The largest airline by international passenger traffic was Air India which had a share of 23.6% of total international passenger traffic in and out of India in 2024, followed by Indigo (17.6 %). In third place was Emirates (8.3%), which is the largest foreign airline operating in India. [8]
Modern civil Aviation in India traces back to 18 February 1911, when the first commercial civil aviation flight took off from Allahabad for Naini over a distance of 6 miles (9.7 km). During the Allahabad Exhibition, Henri Pequet, a French aviator, carried 6,500 pieces of mail on a Humber biplane from the exhibition to the receiving office at Allahabad. This is the world's first official airmail service. [9] The first commercial airline in present-day India was Handley Page Indo-Burmese Transport. [10] On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a consignment of mail from Karachi to Juhu Airport. His airline later became Air India. [11]
In March 1953, the Indian Parliament passed the Air Corporations Act. India's airline industry was nationalised and the eight domestic airlines operating independently at that time – Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air India and Air Services of India – were merged into two government-owned entities. Indian Airlines focussed on domestic routes and Air India International on international services. [9] The International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) was constituted in 1972 while the National Airports Authority was constituted in 1986. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security was established in 1987 following the tragic crash of Air India Flight 182. Pushpaka Aviation operated scheduled international passenger flights from Bombay to Sharjah, as an associate carrier of Air India from 1979 to 1983.
East-West Airlines was the first national-level private airline to operate in the country after the government de-regularised the civil aviation sector in 1991. The government allowed private airlines to operate charter and non-scheduled services under the 'Air Taxi' Scheme until 1994, when the Air Corporation Act was repealed and private airlines could now operate scheduled services. Private airlines like Air Sahara, Modiluft, Damania Airways and NEPC Airlines among others commenced domestic operations during this period. [9]
Air India placed orders for more than 68 jets from Boeing for US$7.5 billion in 2006 while Indian placed orders for 43 jets from Airbus for US$2.5 billion in 2005. [12] [13] IndiGo announced orders for 100 Airbus A320s worth US$6 billion during the Paris Air Show, the highest by any Asian domestic carrier. [14] Kingfisher Airlines became the first Indian air carrier on 15 June 2005 to order Airbus A380 aircraft worth US$3 billion. [15] [16]
More than half a dozen low-cost carriers entered the Indian market in 2004–05. Major new entrants included Air Deccan, Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet, GoAir, Paramount Airways and IndiGo. But Indian aviation industry struggled due to economic slowdown, rising fuel and operation costs. This led to consolidation, buy outs and discontinuations in the Indian airline industry. In 2007, Air Sahara and Air Deccan were acquired by Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines respectively. Paramount Airways ceased operations in 2010 and Kingfisher shut down in 2012. AirAsia India, a low-cost carrier operating as a joint venture between Air Asia and Tata Sons launched in 2014. Vistara, another carrier was established as a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. As of 2013–14, only IndiGo and GoAir were generating profits. [17] GoAir ceased operations in May 2023.
India is the world's third-largest civil aviation market (as of January 2018). [1] It recorded air traffic of 131 million passengers in 2016. [18] The market is also estimated to have 800 aircraft by 2020. [19]
In 2015, Boeing projected India's demand for aircraft to touch 1,740, valued at $240 billion, over the next 20 years in India. This would account for 4.3 per cent of global volumes. According to Airbus, India will be one of the top three aviation markets globally in the next 20 years. Airbus is expecting an annual growth rate of over 11 per cent for the domestic market in India over the next ten years, while the combined growth rate for domestic and international routes would also be more than 10 per cent. [20]
The table shows the air passenger traffic in India with the financial year ending in March: [21]
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total passengers | 77.4 | 88.9 | 98.9 | 98.2 | 103.8 | 115.8 | 135 | 158.4 | 183.9 | 204.2 | 202 | 62.1 | 105.4 |
Domestic passengers | 45.3 | 53.8 | 60.8 | 57.9 | 60.7 | 70.1 | 85.2 | 103.7 | 123.3 | 140.3 | 141.2 | 53.3 | 84.2 |
International passengers | 32.1 | 35.1 | 38.1 | 40.3 | 43.1 | 45.7 | 49.8 | 54.7 | 60.6 | 63.9 | 60.8 | 8.8 | 21.2 |
This is the domestic market share of airlines across India in August 2023 by passengers carried: [5]
Domestic market share | |
---|---|
IndiGo | 63.3% |
Air India | 9.8% |
Vistara | 9.8% |
AirAsia | 7.1% |
SpiceJet | 4.4% |
Akasa Air | 4.2% |
To increase the number of operational airports, number of operational airports with scheduled flights, number of routes, number of flyers and to reduce the cost of flying, the Government of India launched UDAN-RCS scheme from 2016, which increased number of operational airports from 49 to 70 within first round that was awarded in April 2017, several more rounds were awarded in Dec 2017, and many more rounds are planned later in 2018 and 2019 with number of operational airports expected to go to 150 or even more. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
With a view to aid in modernization of the existing airports to establish a high standard and help ease the pressure on the existing airports, 100% FDI under automatic route has now been allowed in Brownfield Airport projects. This move would also serve in further developing the domestic aviation infrastructure. Further, FDI limit for Scheduled Air Transport Service/ Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline and regional Air Transport Service has been raised from 49% to 100%, with FDI up to 49% permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% through Government approval. For Non-Resident Indians (NRI's), 100% FDI will continue to be allowed under automatic route. However, foreign airlines would continue to be allowed to invest in capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services up to the limit of 49% of their paid up capital and subject to the laid down conditions in the existing policy. Increasing the FDI limit for these aviation services shall not only encourage competition by lowering prices but shall also accord choice to consumers.
The civil aviation sector in India, which till now was dependent on foreign countries for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, is planning to have indigenous facilities. [28] The Government of India is planning to develop a sustainable air network in over 400 tier-2 cities across India with an estimated expenditure of ₹50 crores. [29]
The Ministry of Civil Aviation released a report entitled "Vision 2040" on 15 January 2019 outlining a roadmap for the future of civil aviation in India. The report projects that air passenger traffic will increase sixfold to 1.1 billion by 2040 including 821 million domestic and 303 million international passengers. The report estimates that a total of 2,359 aircraft would be required to server passengers in March 2040. The government expects air cargo movement to quadruple to 17 million tons in 2040. The Ministry projected that the number of airport in India would rise from 101 in January 2019 to around 190–200 by March 2040 and an estimated 150,000 acres of land and US$40–50 billion of capital would be required for construction. The government proposed creating a $2 billion fund to help support low-traffic airports. The report also targets establishing an aircraft manufacturing base in India by 2040. [30] [31]
The industry is governed by the provisions of Aircraft Act. [32] [33] According to the '5/20 rule,’ all airlines in India need five years of domestic flying experience and at least 20 aircraft in its fleet in order to fly abroad. [34] The proposal to review or scrap the 5/20 rule had come up during the tenure of former aviation minister Ajit Singh and around the same time when Tata Group evinced interest in investing in airline sector. [35]
Regulations requiring hand baggage tags to be stamped by security personnel at all airports was introduced from 1992. [36] Between 15 and 21 December 2016, the CISF conducted a week-long trial at 6 airports during which all domestic passengers would be exempted from the stamping requirement. [37] Civil aviation security regulator Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) announced on 23 February 2017, that stamping baggage tags was no longer required at seven airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Cochin. [38] The Ministry of Civil Aviation intends to gradually eliminate the requirement from all airports. [39]
The Government of India released the National Civil Aviation Policy on 15 June 2016. The NCAP 2016 covers the broad policy areas, such as Regional connectivity, Safety, Air Transport Operations, 5/20 Requirement for International Operations, Bilateral traffic rights, Fiscal Support, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, Air-cargo, Aeronautical 'Make in India'. The broad key features of the NCAP are :
India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and United States Technical Development Agency (USTDA) signed the Grant Agreement for India Aviation Safety Technical Assistance Phase II on 9 February 2016. Under the agreement, USTDA will partially fund improving systems at the DGCA. While USTDA's assistance will be of $808,327, contractor firm The Wicks Group (TWG) would share the cost of assistance at $75,000. [41]
The security of Indian airports is ensured by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) through its Airport Sector. [42] Three Indian aircraft have been hijacked: 1971 Indian Airlines hijacking (1971), Indian Airlines Flight 427 (1993) and Indian Airlines Flight 814 (1999).
Travel by air has significant environmental impacts. Construction of new airports may require land acquisition, and can be mired in controversies, as happened in the case of the Aranmula International Airport.
The world's first airport fully powered by solar energy is at Kochi. [43] Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi is a "carbon neutral" airport. [44]
As of October 2016, India is not a signatory to the UN supported 'Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation' (CORSIA). 66 countries contributing more than 85% of international aviation activity has decided to voluntarily participate in this mechanism from the introductory phase itself. [45] [46]
New constructions in some of the airports such as Chandigarh [47] and Vadodara [48] have adopted green building features.
India updated its national drone policy in August 2021. [49]
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) of Government of India is the nodal Ministry responsible for the formulation of national policies and programmes for development and regulation of civilian aviation, and for devising and implementing schemes for the orderly growth and expansion of civilian air transport. Its functions extend to overseeing airport facilities, air traffic services and carriage of passengers and goods by air. The Ministry also administers implementation of the 1934 Aircraft Act and is administratively responsible for the Commission of Railways Safety.
The ministry also controls aviation related autonomous organisations like the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi and Public Sector Undertaking - Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited. [50]
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the national regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents. [51] The government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). [52]
AAI's implementation of Automatic Dependence Surveillance System (ADSS), using indigenous technology at Kolkata and Chennai Air Traffic Control Centres, made India the first country to use this technology in the Southeast Asian region, thus enabling air traffic control over oceanic areas using a satellite mode of communication. Performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures have already been implemented at Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad Airports, and are likely to be implemented at other airports in a phased manner. AAI is implementing the GAGAN project in technological collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where the satellite-based system will be used for navigation. The navigation signals thus received from the GPS will be augmented to meet the navigational requirements of aircraft.
AAI has four training establishments: the Civil Aviation Training College (CATC) at Allahabad; the National Institute of Aviation Management and Research (NIAMAR) at Delhi; and the Fire Training Centres (FTC) at Delhi and Kolkata. An Aerodrome Visual Simulator (AVS) has been provided at CATC, and non-radar procedural ATC simulator equipment is being supplied to CATC Allahabad and Hyderabad Airport. AAI has a dedicated Flight Inspection Unit (FIU) with a fleet of three aircraft fitted with flight inspection systems to inspect Instrument Landing Systems up to Cat-III, VORs, DMEs, NDBs, VGSI (PAPI, VASI) and RADAR (ASR/MSSR). In addition to in-house flight calibration of its navigational aids, AAI undertakes flight calibration of navigational aids for the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and other private airfields in the country.
AAI has entered into joint ventures at the Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Nagpur airports to upgrade these airports.
Several Integrated Aviation-industrial parks, for aerospace training, research, manufacturing, Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) and Fixed-base Operations (FBO) integrated international aviation hub and aerospace industrial hub, are in the process of being set up, such as in Hisar [53] [54] [55] and Gujarat. [56]
While there are 346 [57] civilian airfields in India – 253 with paved runways and 93 with unpaved runways, only 132 were classified as "airports" as of November 2014. [58] Of these, the airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Pune handle most of the traffic. The operations of the major airports in India have been privatised over the past five years and this has resulted in better equipped and cleaner airports. The terminals have either been refurbished or expanded.
India also has 33 "ghost airports," which were built in an effort to make air travel more accessible for those in remote regions but are now non-operational due to a lack of demand. The Jaisalmer Airport in Rajasthan, for example, was completed in 2013 and was expected to host 300,000 passengers a year but has not seen any commercial flights take off till 2017,After UDAN – RCS scheme Jaisalmer Airport get its first commercial flight to Delhi and till now there are around 5 destination connected through Jaisalmer. [59]
Length of runways | Airports with paved runways [57] | Airports with unpaved runways [57] |
---|---|---|
3,047 m (10,000 ft) or more | 21 | 1 |
2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to 10,000 ft) | 59 | 3 |
1,524 to 2,438 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft) | 76 | 6 |
914 to 1,524 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft) | 82 | 38 |
Under 914 m (3,000 ft) | 14 | 45 |
Total | 253 | 93 |
As of 2013, there are 45 heliports in India. [57] India also has the world's highest helipad at the Siachen Glacier a height of 6400 metre (21,000 ft) above mean sea level. [60]
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited is a public sector company that provides helicopter services to ONGC to its off-shore locations, and also to various State Governments in India, particularly in North-east India. [61]
There are a total of 22 airlines which are operational in India as of 2015.[ citation needed ]
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving New Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of 5,106 acres (2,066 ha), is situated in Palam, Delhi, 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of the New Delhi Railway Station and 16 km (9.9 mi) from New Delhi city centre.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is the international airport serving Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the second busiest airport in India in terms of total and international passenger traffic after Delhi, and was the ninth busiest airport in Asia and 25th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in fiscal year 2023–24.
Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport is an international airport serving Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is located at Raja Sansi, 11 km (6.8 mi) northwest from the city centre. It is named after Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru and the founder of Amritsar. The airport is the largest and the busiest airport of Punjab. It is the second-largest airport in Northern India after Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The airport was the 3rd fastest-growing airport in India during the fiscal year 2017–18. It is a hub of cargo movements, domestically and internationally. The airport is ranked the 6th-best regional airport in India and Central Asia in 2019 and 2020 by Skytrax. The airport is awarded as the best airport in Asia-Pacific in 2020 by Airports Council International. The airport also featured in the top 10 airports in India and South Asia with Best Airport Staff for the year 2024 by Skytrax.
HAL Airport is an airport that serves Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located about 12 km east of the city centre, it has one runway and operates 24/7. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a state-owned defence company, owns the airfield and runs a testing facility in conjunction with the Indian Armed Forces. The airport also caters to non-scheduled civilian traffic, including general, business and VIP aviation. For over 60 years, it received all domestic and international flights to the city; the Airports Authority of India shut down its civil enclave, officially known as "Bangalore International Airport", upon the opening of the Kempegowda International Airport in Devanahalli in 2008.
Tezu Airport is a domestic airport serving the city of Tezu and adjoining Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is India's easternmost airport, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which upgraded it to handle ATR-72 aircraft with no night-landing facility. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the upgraded airport on 9 February 2019. Scheduled commercial flights commenced from 19 August 2021. currently it provides VFR operations only during day time.
Belgaum Airport, also known as Belagavi Airport, is a domestic airport serving Belgaum, Karnataka. The current integrated terminal building was inaugurated by the then Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 14 September 2017. Near the airport, there is an Indian Air Force station, where new recruits receive basic training.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The airport is located at Sonegaon, 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Nagpur. The airport covers an area of 1,355 acres. In 2005, it was named after B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. The airport handled 27,94,427 passenger in year 2023-24, making it 26th busiest airport in India. The airport handles around 8,000 passengers per day and caters to four domestic airlines and two international airlines connecting Nagpur to Sharjah, Doha, and 14 domestic destinations. The airport spread over 1,460 acres is also home to Nagpur Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. Growth in passenger traffic is fuelled by passengers traveling to and from the state capital Mumbai, located over 700 km (378 mi) away and the national capital Delhi. The airport has one terminal and has two aerobridges.
Ludhiana Airport is a domestic airport serving the city of Ludhiana in Punjab, India. It is located near the town of Sahnewal, 12 km (7.5 mi) south-east of Ludhiana on the Grand Trunk Road. There is a flight training club based in the airport.
Jaisalmer Airport is a domestic airport serving Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. It is located 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) from the city centre. The airport operates as a civil enclave on an Indian Air Force base.
Nanded Airport, officially known as Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Airport, is a domestic airport serving the city of Nanded, in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was inaugurated on 4 October 2008 by the former Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, and the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, with Kingfisher Airlines flying a special commemorative flight to the airport using its ATR-72 turboprop aircraft. It is named after Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last Sikh Guru
Sonari Airport, also known as Jamshedpur Airport, is a domestic airport in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, owned by Tata Steel. It is located approximately 4.4 km (2.7 mi) from the city centre. It is the main airport serving the city of Jamshedpur and adjoining regions. The airport was in commercial operations until 2016, when the operations from the airport was ceased. After efforts taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Jharkhand and Tata Steel, The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted licence to the airport for public use on 25 January 2023. It reopened for commercial operations between Kolkata and Bhubaneswar from 31 January 2023.
Pondicherry Airport is a domestic airport serving the union territory of Puducherry, India. It is located at Lawspet, situated 8.1 km (5.0 mi) from the international community of Auroville. The airport has scheduled flights and operations of the local flying training school. In 2007, the Government of Puducherry decided to expand the airport to accommodate larger aircraft and commissioned a new terminal building. The new terminal was inaugurated on 18 January 2013, with the arrival of a SpiceJet flight from Bangalore. After a gap of three years, the airport was operationalised again under the UDAN scheme in August 2017, with daily flights to Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Bareilly Airport is a domestic airport serving Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India at Indian Air Force's Trishul Air Base in Izzatnagar, located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north from the city centre.
Jalgaon Airport is a domestic airport serving the city of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, India. It is located in Kusumbe, off National Highway 753F (NH-753F), 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of the city centre, and 47 km (29 mi) away from the Ajanta Caves, for which it is its closest airport. The airport has a flight training institute run by Skynex Aviation. After resumption of operations in April 2024 with Fly91 and Alliance Air from June 2024, the airport became one of the fastest growing airports in Maharashtra, with direct connectivity to the major cities of Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Goa and Ahmedabad. As of June 2024, it is the fifth-busiest airport in the state by private and commercial aircraft movements.
Bathinda Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Bathinda and the Malwa region in Punjab, India. It is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north-west of the city in Bhisiana and near the village of Killi nihal singh wala. The airport operates commercial flights under the Airports Authority of India as a civil enclave of the Bhisiana Air Force Station. Alliance Air was the only commercial airline that operated flights from the airport to Delhi from December 2016 till 2020. Since then, the airport remained inactive, until when in September 2023, FlyBig, restarted flight operations by starting flights to Ghaziabad and later to Dehradun from 18 September 2023.
Adampur Airport, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the cities of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India. It is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) from Adampur town in Jalandhar district, 28 km (17 mi) from Jalandhar and 27 km (17 mi) from Hoshiarpur. It just beside NH-3. As it lies just between the cities of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, it serves both the cities. The airport was required by the Doaba region of Punjab for facilitating commercial operations, as the other two main airports of the state at Amritsar and Chandigarh are 100 and 145 km distant, respectively.
Aviation in India can be broadly divided into military and civil aviation. India has an extensive civilian air transportation network and is amongst the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik, known by its acronym UDAN-RCS is a regional airport development program of the Government of India and part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of upgrading under-serviced air routes.RCS scheme consists of setting up Greenfield airports and as well as upgradation of Brownfield airports. Its objective is to make air travel more accessible and contribute to economic development in India. At the beginning of the scheme, out of a total of 486 airports, 406 were under-serviced and only 27 were well-served; out of 97 non-RCS airports only 12 were operational. The UDAN scheme was created to add to this number by expediting the development and operationalization of India's potential target of nearly 425 unserved, under-served, and mostly underdeveloped regional airports with regularly scheduled flights. However, several issues and criticisms of its poor infrastructure, dominance by larger airlines, degradation of regional airlines, and slow implementation have plagued the scheme. In October 2023, India has 149 operational airports for civil aviation, including 30 international, 12 customs, 107 domestic, and few more civil aviation enclaves within military air bases. India is also planning to build the second airports in the big cities to decongest, 6 by 2030, 15 by 2040 and 30 plus by 2047.
Darbhanga Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Station, serving Darbhanga, Bihar, India. It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-527B and NH-57 highways, which passes through Darbhanga. The airport is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The foundation stone for the airport was laid by the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, and the then Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu, in the presence of the State Civil Aviation Minister, Jayant Sinha, on 24 December 2018. After efforts taken by the then Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri. Commercial flights started on 8 November 2020.
Hindon Airport, also spelled Hindan Airport, is a commercial domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, operated by the Airports Authority of India at Hindan Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. It is the second commercial airport serving the National Capital Region after Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and 20 km from Connaught Place.