The primary finding from a LocalCircles survey indicates that most air travelers in the area are unlikely to transition from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to the forthcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar, primarily due to worries about elevated fares, increased travel distance, and inadequate connectivity.
The survey gathered over 19,000 responses from travelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad, revealing that almost 90% of participants would still prefer Delhi airport if Noida flight costs remain higher.
For many travelers, the convenience and accessibility of Delhi airport still outweigh the allure of a new airport.
When asked about their airport preference if Noida fares are 25% pricier than those from Delhi for identical routes, a significant majority (58%) expressed they would continue to use Delhi airport due to better pricing and closer proximity.
Additionally, 32% cited proximity as the main reason for favoring Delhi airport, while 5% pointed to lower fares as their key consideration.
A very small portion of respondents (5%) indicated they might explore Noida airport in 2026, primarily out of curiosity to experience it once. Notably, no respondents mentioned proximity as a reason for choosing Noida.
The survey further indicated that travelers might contemplate switching only if Noida airport offered fares on par with or lower than those at Delhi, along with significantly enhanced ground connectivity.
The Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar is scheduled to commence commercial operations on June 15, with IndiGo as the inaugural carrier.
Despite being branded as NCR’s second key airport alongside Delhi airport, Jewar airport is already encountering backlash over much higher proposed airport charges and limited metro and rapid rail access.
According to submissions by IndiGo and Air India to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), the suggested airport fees at Noida are considerably higher than those at Delhi airport.
Reports suggest that domestic landing charges are approximately 119% higher than IGIA, while the proposed User Development Fee (UDF) could be ₹653 per domestic passenger — around 406% above Delhi’s rates.
Airlines have raised concerns that these elevated fees might render operations from Noida economically unviable and could potentially lead to airfares being 20-25% more expensive than those from Delhi airport.
LocalCircles also highlighted the deficiency of metro and rapid rail connectivity as a significant concern, asserting that longer travel times and increased ground transport expenses further diminish its attractiveness for NCR residents.
“IndiGo estimates this will add roughly ₹103 crore annually in airport fees compared to Delhi, warning that without parity, operations from Noida might become commercially unviable,” the report noted.
The issues have drawn political scrutiny as well. Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 8 requesting a reassessment of the suggested UDF and passenger fees.
In his letter, Singh referred to early IndiGo booking statistics showing fares on the Lucknow-Noida route at approximately ₹5,072, in contrast to ₹3,600-4,300 for Lucknow-Delhi flights.
The report mentioned that while the Uttar Pradesh government had lowered VAT on aviation turbine fuel to 1% to reduce costs at Noida airport, this advantage risks being negated by the proposed airport fees.
Currently, IndiGo stands as the only confirmed launch carrier for the airport, which anticipates initially accommodating 1.2 crore passengers annually.
Initial flights will link the airport to Lucknow, Bengaluru, Amritsar, Hyderabad, and Jammu, with plans to broaden its reach to over 16 domestic destinations within weeks.
