New Delhi, June 18 -- JEWAR - The first commercial flight into India's newest international airport landed at Noida shortly before noon on Sunday. The aircraft was an IndiGo Airbus, the route was Lucknow to Jewar, and the airport had spent almost five years in construction before the engines went quiet on the apron. The Delhi National Capital Region now has its second international air hub. The country's largest commercial market for aviation has been carrying the load of Indira Gandhi International alone for a decade.

The opening is the first piece of a phased buildout. Phase 1 begins commercial operations with a passenger handling capacity of 12 million a year, served initially by IndiGo and connecting Noida to 16 domestic destinations...