GREATER NOIDA, March 7 -- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued an aerodrome licence to the Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar, officials said. The aerodrome licence is mandatory before an airport can begin operations. "The conditional security vetting approval is a milestone for the Noida International Airport as the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security conducted detailed site inspections and tests before they issued their approvals. Now, on Friday, the DGCA also issued an aerodrome licence after all tests and formalities were completed as per the laid down norms. The inauguration date is likely to be decided by the government shortly," said RK Singh, chief executive officer of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), a Uttar Pradesh government agency formed to oversee the airport work. In order to issue security approvals, a BCAS team inspected several aspects, including airport security arrangements, surveillance systems, access control, and the screening systems for passengers and cargo. "Security vetting approval was granted only after all standards were found to be in compliance. This means that the airport's security system has been deemed safe for flight operations. Only after this approval does the final process for starting flights move forward. Following the security clearance, the last step was to issue an aerodrome licence by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that has finally issued the same. Commercial flight operations can begin now as this licence is granted by the DGCA," said Shailendra Bhatia, additional chief executive officer of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority and nodal officer for the airport. "This licence authorises the aerodrome to be used as a regular place of landing and departure to all persons on equal terms and conditions for operation by aircraft requiring specifications of runway and associated facilities, including granted expansions equal to or less than those indicated in the aerodrome manual, subject to the conditions as contained in Schedule 1 for a period as shown in Schedule 2 hereto. The licence is likely to be suspended/modified/withdrawn/and/ or any limitations or conditions may be imposed if any violations of the provisions of the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2020, Aircraft Rules 1937, or any orders/ directions/ requirements issued under the said Act, rules of limitations or conditions as in Schedule 1 are observed. This aerodrome licence is not transferable," said the DGCA 's approval, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times. The Yogi Adityanath government aims to inaugurate and operationalise the Noida international airport at the earliest. People familiar with the matter said the airport can be inaugurated in the upcoming Navratri festival, which begins on March 19 this year. "All necessary preparations are currently being finalised. The airport is being developed in multiple phases. Once fully completed, it will be among the largest airports not only in India but also in Asia. It will have the capacity to handle millions of passengers annually and will play a crucial role in connecting Uttar Pradesh to the global aviation network," a UP government official said, requesting anonymity. The NIAL said that once the aerodrome licence is issued, it will take 45 days to make the airport fully operational. After 45 days, the airport will witness domestic cargo operations. Subsequently, when the international airport terminal of the airport is completed, international operations will start, said officials. After the aerodrome licence, the concessionaire will call a meeting of all stakeholders to establish equipment and engage the trained staff to manage the operations. "It will be the duty of the concessionaire to prepare for the operations and deploy all the required trained staff for the domestic and cargo operations," said Bhatia. Being developed in four phases along with a multi-modal cargo hub, the airport will have one runway and one terminal in the first phase, with an annual passenger handling capacity of around 12 million (in the first phase). Upon completion of all the phases, the airport will be capable of handling up to 70 million passengers per year....