The upcoming Noida international airport might be set to begin operations within the next two months, after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday granted an aerodrome license to the facility, clearing its last hurdle before launch.. Spread across 1,300 hectares in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar, the Noida International Airport cleared its ultimate hurdle – getting an aerodrome license, before kickstarting operations a day after it received mandatory security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). (Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times file photo). A government statement said that the airport has been licensed under the Public Use category for all-weather operations and that it meets the safety and operational standards prescribed by the regulator.. The development of the Noida International Airport (NIA) is part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s broader vision for building a robust aviation ecosystem, it stated.. When will the airport open?. After the DGCA approval, cargo and domestic flight operations are expected to begin within 45 days, as mandated under the project plan.. Spread across 1,300 hectares in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar, the airport facility cleared its ultimate hurdle – getting an aerodrome license, before kickstarting operations a day after it received mandatory security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).. The BCAS had earlier flagged several issues that pushed back the inauguration, which was initially scheduled for September 2024. It had raised concerns over potential interference with the Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (DVOR), a navigation aid that provides aircraft with bearing information relative to a ground station.. Questions were also raised over a steel wall near the DVOR, which staged a chance to affect the safety of aircraft during landing and take-off. BCAS questioned the makeshift structure and asked the airport operator to replace it with a permanent wall.. “While constructing the permanent wall will take a few months, BCAS has granted clearance on the condition that a permanent structure is built within six months,” an official aware of the matter said.. About the Noida International Airport. Expected to handle about 12 million passengers annually in its first phase, the NIA is being developed as the national capital region’s second major airport after Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.. The facility features a runway with orientation 10/28 and dimensions of 3,900 m × 45 m, supported by an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) system, enabling 24×7 operations.. “The aerodrome has parking stands for 24 Code C and 02 Code D/F aircraft and is equipped with ARFF Category 9 facilities capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER,” a statement by the government read.. The airport is being developed in four phases along with a multi-modal cargo hub. After the completion of