Noida's Jewar Airport to Be Renamed Narendra Modi International Airport
Uttar Pradesh's Cabinet has approved the new name for the airport that opened to commercial flights in June.
The airport at Jewar that began commercial flights this summer is getting a new name. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Friday, October 9, that the state Cabinet has approved renaming Noida International Airport as Narendra Modi International Airport, Noida-Jewar.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Adityanath said the state's Council of Ministers had thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving Uttar Pradesh the airport, which he described as a major gift to the state. He said it is expected to become Uttar Pradesh's largest airport and a significant aviation hub for the country.
The decision has been approved by the Cabinet; reports so far do not indicate when the new name will be formally adopted on signage, tickets and airline systems.
An airport only months old
The airport is new by any measure. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated its first phase on March 28, 2026, and commercial operations began on June 15 with an IndiGo flight from Lucknow, according to Outlook.
Its first phase cost about ₹11,282 crore and has an initial capacity of 1.2 crore passengers a year, with plans to expand to around 7 crore annually. The airport has a single 3,900-metre runway able to handle wide-body aircraft, with instrument landing systems at both ends for low-visibility operations, and is designed as a multimodal hub linking air travel with road and other transport networks.
It was built under a public–private partnership by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Switzerland's Zurich Airport International AG, with Noida International Airport Limited acting as the implementing agency for the state government. The name "Noida International Airport" itself was only finalised in December 2020.
Why it matters
For residents of western Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Region, the airport's significance lies less in its name than in its role: it is meant to improve connectivity across the region and take pressure off Delhi's crowded Indira Gandhi International Airport as traffic grows.
Naming major infrastructure after political leaders has a long and often contested history in India, and the decision is likely to draw political responses. For travellers, the practical change will come when airlines and the airport operator update their systems to reflect the new name.
Sources
This article draws on the following reporting. Dates are when each source was originally published.
Written by
Newsroom
Reporting, explainers and analysis from The Daily’s editorial desk, based on verified public sources that are listed with every story.
More from The Daily Desk →Enjoyed this story?
Get the best of The Daily in your inbox every Sunday.
