Second calibration flight conducted at Noida International Airport

File photo

A second calibration flight by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was conducted on Tuesday at the Noida International Airport, which is expected to begin operations soon, officials said.

The first of the two mandatory calibration flights was conducted on October 31.

On Tuesday, an aircraft landed from the west side of the runway. Previously, it was done from the east side, which is towards the Yamuna Expressway.

According to officials, this crucial test, conducted before any new airport becomes operational, verifies the accuracy of the airport's navigation and communication systems.

"A calibration flight of AAI landed today at Noida International Airport in Jewar to calibrate runway 28 or ILS (Instrument Landing System) 28," Shailendra Kumar Bhatia, the nodal officer of Noida International Airport, told PTI.

"On Friday, the calibration was done from the east side, that is, runway-10 or ILS 10. Runway 10 is towards the west side (towards Yamuna Expressway), while Runway 28 is on the East side. There are ILS on both sides of the runway," the officer explained.

The nomenclatures (10 and 28) are for different directions on the same runway. Officials said the process for obtaining the aerodrome license for the greenfield airport is underway, after which the project can open for commercial operations.

What is calibration flight

A calibration flight is a specialised test operation designed to ensure that the airport's ILS, radar, and air navigation equipment function in accordance with international safety standards, they said.

During the exercise, specially equipped aircraft fly at varying altitudes and angles to assess the strength, stability, and precision of signals transmitted by ground systems. The process involves flight inspectors, technical engineers, and air traffic control (ATC) specialists working in coordination, officials added.

The first phase of the Noida International Airport is expected to be inaugurated soon. The date, however, remains unannounced.

In the first phase, the airport will cover over 1,334 hectares of land with one runway, one terminal building and a passenger capacity of 12 million annually, according to officials.

The project would be completed in four different phases and ultimately have five runways and a passenger capacity of 300 million annually, they added.

The airport is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, for the Uttar Pradesh government in a public-private partnership model.