- Uttar Pradesh’s Cabinet approved a proposal to rename Noida International Airport after Narendra Modi on October 9, 2026.
- The proposal still needs a state legislature resolution, Union Cabinet approval, and Gazette of India notification to complete the formal name change.
- The airport began commercial flights on June 15, 2026, and its services and passenger arrangements remain unchanged by the proposal.
Uttar Pradesh’s Cabinet approved a proposal on October 9, 2026, to rename the airport at Jewar after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the state action does not complete the formal change. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the decision after the Cabinet meeting.
He said the Council of Ministers had approved a proposal to honor the prime minister. The resolution refers to the airport as being at Jewar, in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.
“The Council of Ministers of Uttar Pradesh expresses its gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting the state the Noida International Airport at Jewar. The Cabinet has approved a proposal to name it Narendra Modi International Airport, Noida-Jewar.”
The proposal concerns the airport’s name, not its operations. Flight schedules, airline services, ticket prices, access and location remain unchanged.
The state Cabinet approval does not complete the name change
Uttar Pradesh’s Cabinet approved 39 proposals at its October 9 meeting. The airport renaming resolution was one item in that package, but the state Cabinet’s action is not the final step under the stated national naming process.
The process calls for a recommendation from the relevant state government, supported by a resolution of the state legislature. The Union Cabinet makes the final decision, and the approved name is then notified in the Gazette of India.
Hardeep Singh Puri, then Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, described the procedure in a Lok Sabha reply dated March 19, 2020:
“A request for naming/renaming of airport is considered by the Union Cabinet based on the recommendations of the concerned State Government supported by a resolution passed in the respective State Legislative Assembly.”
Former Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia restated the policy in a Rajya Sabha response dated July 28, 2021. He said:
“The final decision in the matter is taken by the Union Cabinet. This is the guiding policy for naming/renaming of airports / terminal buildings.”
The Cabinet resolution therefore marks a state-level proposal in a process that still requires central approval and formal notification. The Gazette step follows a Union Cabinet decision.
Adityanath presented the proposal as a tribute to Modi
The Uttar Pradesh government framed the proposed name as recognition of Modi’s 25 years in public life and his ties to the state. Adityanath pointed to the prime minister’s election to Parliament from Varanasi.
“It is a moment of immense pride for the UP Cabinet as it is from the land of UP (Varanasi) that PM Modi was elected as MP.”
Adityanath also described the airport as “UP’s biggest airport” and said it would become “the country’s biggest aviation hub in the future.” Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, the state’s deputy chief ministers, attended the Cabinet meeting and announcement alongside alliance leaders.
The chief minister linked the decision to a broader account of Modi’s record. He cited the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and the return from abroad of the idol of Goddess Annapurna.
He also pointed to infrastructure expansion in Uttar Pradesh after 2017, naming expressways, highways, Metro services and the Regional Rapid Transit System. The state’s explanation tied the proposed honor to both Modi’s public service and his political association with Uttar Pradesh.
The airport began commercial flights in June
Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the airport’s first phase on March 28, 2026. Commercial operations started on June 15, 2026, when an IndiGo flight arriving from Lucknow made the first landing.
The project was developed as a public-private partnership by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, alongside the central and Uttar Pradesh governments. Construction cost ₹11,282 crore.
The first phase has one runway and one passenger terminal, with initial capacity of approximately 12 million passengers per year. The airport is in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar district, and is intended to serve the National Capital Region alongside Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Its name proposal follows its inauguration and the start of scheduled commercial activity. But the state announcement does not change airline services or passenger arrangements.
Four phases are planned, with the next expected in 2031–32
The development plan calls for expansion in four phases and a long-term capacity of approximately 70 million passengers annually. The second phase is expected to become operational in 2031–32.
Passenger facilities are only part of the planned project. The airport’s development plans also include cargo facilities, aircraft maintenance, skill-development programmes, and education and sports infrastructure.
Those projects are intended to sit alongside the airport’s role serving the National Capital Region. The planned scale is substantially above the first phase’s approximate 12 million-passenger annual capacity.
The next scheduled milestone in the expansion plan is the second phase, expected in 2031–32.
