NOIDA, May 12 -- Noida International Airport is steadily expanding its flight network ahead of the start of commercial operations, with Akasa Air announcing daily direct flights to Bengaluru and Navi Mumbai from June 16. The announcement comes a day after IndiGo confirmed its inaugural service from the airport on June 15.
Akasa Air has opened ticket bookings for the two routes through its website, mobile applications and online travel portals. The airline will operate daily non-stop flights connecting the Jewar airport with Bengaluru and Navi Mumbai. The services are expected to improve connectivity for passengers from Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and western Uttar Pradesh, while easing pressure on Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Ticket prices from the new airport are currently higher than fares for similar routes operating from Delhi. Aviation analysts attribute the higher fares to airport user charges and operational costs associated with the greenfield airport project. Despite Uttar Pradesh offering lower aviation turbine fuel tax compared to Delhi, the higher airport charges are likely to keep fares at par with or above those from IGI Airport during the initial phase of operations.
IndiGo is scheduled to operate the first commercial flight to the airport from Lucknow on June 15 and plans to gradually launch services on multiple domestic routes. With Akasa Air becoming the second airline to announce operations.
Anand Srinivasan, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Akasa Air, said the expansion aligns with the rapid growth of India's aviation market. He added that Noida airport's modern infrastructure, multimodal connectivity and long-term expansion capacity would significantly transform access to the National Capital Region.
Akasa Air currently operates flights to 27 domestic and seven international destinations and is expected to further expand its network from Jewar in the coming months.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.