INDIA. S. Shriram meets Noida International Airport CEO Christoph Schnellmann and Chief Commercial Officer Prashant Gaurav Gupta to get an update on the progress of the new greenfield airport in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India, and the commercial opportunities that will soon be tendered for it.
Noida International Airport Limited CEO Christoph Schnellmann is no stranger to India. The Swiss aviation professional arrived in the country for the first time over 15 years ago to assist the management of Zurich Airport operator Flughafen Zürich, which was developing the greenfield Bangalore International Airport.
Schnellmann gained significant knowledge from the project and since then has continued to work with the airport company (which today manages ten assets worldwide, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean) in various roles, interspersed with two lengthy spells working for airport ground services and air cargo handling company Swissport.
Bangalore was the first venture for Flughafen Zürich to manage an airport asset outside Switzerland, where the company has been operating Zurich Airport for the past 75 years.
“Many of us felt that Bangalore was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work in an airport [project of this nature], but it turns out, there’s a second opportunity,” says Schnellmann, who has been permanently based in India since December 2020, a few months after the group won the mandate to build and operate the new greenfield airport at Noida for the next 70 years.
Noida is part of the National Capital Region (NCR), a city located in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The new airport lies about 100 kilometres from GMR Aero-managed New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is also in the NCR.
“Unlike in Bangalore, Zurich Airport is the 100% shareholder of this project,” points out Schnellmann, hinting at the flexibility such ownership will bring to running a project of this magnitude.
To give context, when the privatisation of airports began in India during the early 2000s, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model existed, in which the Central Government and the respective State Governments had a 13% stake each, leaving 74% to private operators.
However, since 2019, the new model is that of a joint venture where the private operator owns 100% of the project. The aviation fees are set for a period of five years by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), so the landing and parking fees of airlines are well aligned. Hence, it is the revenues from non-aeronautical avenues and cargo that matter to the private operators thereafter.
“Indian warmth and hospitality with Swiss quality and efficiency, would sum up the mission and vision of the Noida Airport project,” says Schnellmann. “We are designing and constructing the airport and the processes involved will make the commercial offering evoke a clear Sense of Place in North India, that is warm and welcoming to the passengers.”
Asked how he sees the upcoming project, given that New Delhi Airport has already set benchmarks, Schnellmann says: “I remember travelling in India, flying to New Delhi in 2006-07. When GMR took over and opened Terminal 3, they revolutionised air travel in the national capital and the nation at large. It has been an incredibly successful run.”
He adds: “The growth in passenger traffic wouldn’t have been possible without the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai and the two greenfield projects at Bangalore and Hyderabad. We stand on the shoulders of these giants.
“The contractual frameworks, AERA among others, were developed over these years. We benefit very much from all these developments and from the progress airport commercialisation has made. The market has pretty much matured.”
Acknowledging a large market scope for the new airport in Noida, Schnellmann adds: “With the existing New Delhi Airport reaching 50 million passengers per year soon, there is a lot more potential in the National Capital Region, which is set to become by far the largest metropolitan region in the world, with global peers such as Tokyo, London, New York, etc.”
Indian airports served 330 million passengers during Financial Year 2022-23 (to 31 March), of which almost 75% was domestic traffic, across the 130+ airports in India. Though there are ten large international airport terminals in the country, handling over 50% of the annual traffic, none of them are yet truly international aviation hubs. Essentially, travel retail is largely led by spend from transit passengers, who are moving within and across continents, as well as arrivals duty free as an important channel for returning Indian nationals.
Asked how the company will embrace this opportunity, Schnellmann replies: “We have designed the aviation infrastructure to allow for the quick turnaround of aircraft. The terminal building is designed in a manner for faster transfer times (between domestic to international terminals) and shorter walking distances (for passengers) are being worked upon as well.”
Schnellmann feels that in the short to medium term, Noida Airport is being developed as a domestic airport and perhaps in the medium to long term, will develop as an international hub. “Though the new Noida Airport would operate international traffic from day one, the focus will largely be on domestic passengers initially,” he says.
Given the vast geography of India, there is a lot of domestic tourism, where Indian tourists from the southern parts visit the northern tourist attractions and vice-versa. So, Noida Airport could become a preferred travel hub from a domestic connectivity point of view, rivalling the existing one at New Delhi.
Construction work began on Noida Airport in June 2022, and the airport is expected to be operational with commercial flights by December 2024. The concession for airport operations to Flughafen Zürich is for a period of 40 years with provision for an extension for a further 30 years.
The Noida Airport site is situated in 1,334 hectares and the terminal building will be spread over 100,000sq m. Initially, the terminal will have the capacity to manage 12 million passengers annually and can be scaled up to 70 million passengers in four further phases. Over time, there is also a provision made for a second runway in the southern side of the project and all the ancillary infrastructure is being developed accordingly
Air India SATS has been awarded the concession for cargo, which will be developed to be ready in time for the commencement of airport commercial passenger operations. The cargo hub “will be truly multi-modal in nature”, says Schnellmann, connecting air and road transport. Logistics areas for warehousing, truck dropping facilities are also being developed simultaneously.
Retail and F&B opportunities
Noida International Airport Chief Commercial Officer Prashant Gaurav Gupta joined recently to lead the commercial offer at the airport. He gives an overview of the opportunities: “Over 2,000sq m of space has been assigned for retail in domestic departures and arrivals while 1,800sq m has been allotted for F&B.
“The forecourt retail and F&B will be spread over 1,600sq m and the duty free areas over 1,250sq m between international departures and arrivals.”
Gupta elaborates on the forecourt concession opportunities: “It will be the size of a large football field, essentially. The passenger terminal (for departures and arrivals) is spread over two levels. Both these [types of] passengers will converge at the forecourt, where they can meet visitors, have a cup of coffee, take a bite, before leaving to their destinations.”
There are currently no plans for airline lounges, but there will be a large common lounge in the domestic departures zone when the airport opens. Over time, another will be added in the international departures area. A 220-room Roseate Hotel, being built by the Bird Group, will commence operations to coincide with NIAL’s opening.
The design philosophy for the retail and F&B areas is still being worked out, according to Gupta. “There will be an eclectic mix of brands and themes which will come together in one design philosophy,” he says. “There will be a fair mix of a large concessionaire for domestic retail as well as individual brands.
“The entire retail landscape has matured a lot now. Indian and international brands know the airport play well. Our focus remains on how passengers can reach the gates in the quickest possible manner and how can we curate a retail and F&B experience within that space.”
Airport advertising will also be given prominence, Schnellmann points out. “Around 45-50% will be digital display boards while the rest would be static media. We will be looking at whatever is as efficient as possible.”
According to Gupta, the F&B tenders are expected to begin this month (June) followed by lounge tenders, and then, the core retail tender. Finally, tenders will be put out for transportation, car parking and other channels.
Noida International Airport is currently one of the most ambitious aviation projects in India and, set against the backdrop of a soaring passenger market across the country, it is likely much interest will be generated in these upcoming commercial opportunities. 
