The CEO, as well as the chief operating officer (COO), is yet to receive the security clearance from the Union home ministry or be vetted by BCAS

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Noida International Airport is a foreign national and this falls afoul of aviation security norms for greenfield airports, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has flagged at a high-level meeting that included the minister of civil aviation, multiple officials close to the matter said on Monday.

The CEO, as well as the chief operating officer (COO), is yet to receive the security clearance from the Union home ministry or be vetted by BCAS, the security arm of the civil aviation ministry. Both steps are mandatory for airport executives and this issue is one of the factors behind the long delay at the yet-to-be-fully-operational airport, which has already missed at least three deadlines.

The MHA clearance broadly approves an individual for access to sensitive roles and BCAS vetting specifically ensures compliance with aviation security norms and operational requirements under the established aviation security (Avsec) rules. They prohibit non-Indians from becoming CEOs of greenfield airports.

“The chief executive officer of Indian nationality at each greenfield Indian airport and airport director or in-charge airport management at AAI airports which are served by civil flights shall be the security co-ordinator at the respective airports and shall be responsible for coordinating the implementation of security measures in accordance with the legal provisions and instructions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security from time to time,” according to BCAS Avsec order dated January 17, 2011, reviewed by HT.

According to an official, the issue first came to light two years ago. “A show cause notice too was issued to the airport management for non-compliance of the Avsec order, however, no action was taken by either NIA or BCAS,” a second official said.

Then, people familiar with the matter said, the issue was raised at a December 10 meeting involving the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA), NIA officials, and BCAS. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu was present at the meeting.

MoCA did not respond to HT’s request for comment.

NIA in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar is being developed as National Capital Region’s second major airport after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The project was awarded in October 2020 to Zurich Airport International AG, which is developing and operating the airport through its Indian subsidiary, Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), under a 40-year public-private partnership.

The airport’s operations are led by CEO Christoph Schnellmann who is a Swiss national. On behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, the project is overseen by Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), the state-owned special purpose vehicle.

Officials cited above confirmed that NIA has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) extending the airport’s unavailability for operations until January 31, 2026, indicating that its inauguration is now unlikely before February. The NOTAM was issued on December 12.

To be sure, this is not the only reason for the delay at the airport, which was first supposed to begin operations in September 2024. The airport, which is spread over 1,300 hectares of land and expected to service 12 million people in the first phase, is yet to receive its aerodrome licence, which certifies that the airport meets safety and operational standards, from the DGCA.

An NIA spokesperson said the airport was making “progress” towards operationalisation.

“Noida International Airport (NIA) is progressing steadily towards operational readiness. We are working closely with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and BCAS for the final stages of aerodrome licensing and security-related clearances. Safety and security remain non-negotiable priorities for us. Our teams are fully engaged in ensuring that all regulatory and operational requirements are met in line with prescribed national standards,” the spokesperson said.

A former bureaucrat said the rules laid down by the government do not allow non-Indians to be CEOs of an airport. “The question is why the relevant authorities did not raise this issue earlier, and why it has come up only in the final stages of the airport’s development.”

BCAS has also raised a second, technical observations regarding the potential interference with the Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (DVOR), which provides aircraft with bearing information to determine their position and direction relative to a ground station.

“The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has raised the issue of a steel wall constructed near the DVOR which is against the safety of landing and taking off aircraft,” a person familiar with the matter said. BCAS has also questioned the makeshift steel wall and asked the airport operator to replace it with a permanent structure.