There are no meticulously maintained, tree-lined avenues, nor multiple checking points or routes leading towards different terminals. On both sides of the road leading to the Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad are agricultural fields. Some have shallow pools full of water after recent rains. The fields double up as nesting ground for white herons and pastures for cows. The Hindon Airport, which started very limited domestic operations in 2019, has started attracting more passengers after more airlines have started flights. It is the second airport in the NCR region after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, and will soon have company in the Noida International Airport in Jewar. Around 1.2 kilometres before the main terminal at the modest building, an emerald-green signboard simply reads, “Hindon Airport.” A sharp left turn leads to the compact airport premises of Hindon. It is a short drive and many can be seen pulling along trolley suitcases after exiting the airport and walking to the Bhopura main market. “We are walking to the main road to take an auto,” said Shivam Verma, a 22-year-old man who arrived from Bengaluru minutes ago. “I stay in Vasundhra. The flight was cheaper than the one landing at the Delhi airport. It also saves me from the traffic and the journey between Delhi and Ghaziabad,” Shivam said before getting into the auto that he hailed for Rs 175. The Hindon Airport, which is also an Air Force station, was inaugurated as a commercial civil terminal on March 8, 2019, to serve a few regional routes under the Government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAAN) and flew to Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. By July this year, the number of flights from the airport grew to 16. It was the entry of larger carriers like Air India Express that began operations from Hindon to Bengaluru, Goa and Kolkata on March 1 this year that changed the landscape. On July 20 this year, Indigo launched flights from Hindon to eight cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Patna, and Varanasi. Others like Flybig operate to Bathinda and Ludhiana while Star Air operates flights to Adampur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bahalgavi, Ajmer, Nagpur, Nanded and Pune, including several connecting flights to Chennai to Hindon to Bhubaneshwar, also from Chennai via Hindon to Kolkata, Goa to Kolkata. With two boarding gates, the airport has two security check-ins and has one small eatery outlet. When The Indian Express visited in the afternoon, passengers waited to board flights to Bengaluru, Goa and Kolkata. For many, it was their first time at the airport. A few passengers stood at the entry gate getting their tickets checked by security officials. Nearly 10 meters away, a woman officer stood at the baggage scan counters, and on the left were four boarding stations, nearly empty. On both sides of the security hold area, there are two frisking points each for men and women, with no queue at the female gate points. On clearing the security checkpoints, carrot and salmon colour seats greet passengers. The lone food outlet, ‘Eat and Fly’ offers coffee, tea and sandwiches. 59-year-old Akhilesh Gupta, a resident of Uttarakhand and his 57-year-old wife, Kamlesh Gupta sat at gate number 1. “The washrooms are nearby. I feel more confident as I will not get lost. It is a compact area. The staff are politer and the space more quiet,” Kamlesh said. The couple were at the airport for the second time and were headed to Mumbai to meet their son. “The tickets were cheaper,” said Akhilesh. “We planned to head back to Uttarakhand after visiting Vrindavan but when we checked the price from Hindon to Mumbai, we changed our plan and are now going to meet our son,” he said. Among those taking flights were also TV actors, filmmakers, businessmen and influencers. Crime Patrol fame actor Sanjeev Tyagi was among those at the airport. “It is my first time here. I am flying to Mumbai,” Tyagi said. Tyagi, who was in Noida to visit his family, did not know that Ghaziabad had an airport. “I was surprised but it was a good one, saves my time,” he said. Prerna Sharma, 47, a yoga teacher in Mumbai said that the airport was compact. “I am not used to such compact airport premises… The airport can be a good choice for those travelling to and from Vrindavan and Mathura…I am waiting for the Noida Airport’s opening. There is a lot of buzz around it,” she said. Some heading out of the airport awaited a confirmation notification on their phone from the can services. “I am already running late. I have a train to catch from Nizamuddin Railway Station, I am trying to book a cab but the price is high, I will have to walk it seems,” said one. Talking to The Indian Express, the Director of the Hindon Airport, Dr Mahesh Chilaka said that the aim is to compete with Delhi and upcoming Noida International Airport when it comes to seamless connectivity. “In the span of the last six years we have gone from 150 to 300 passengers per hour. We are now operating beyond our capacity of tackling 550 passengers in the peak hour.” “We have inaugurated the Buzzway app so that the passengers can book a cab to their destination quickly. We have also floated tenders to have a food court, apparel store and snack bar and more car rental options, but there are two major bottlenecks for now,” he said. “We have only two parking bays and limited space inside the airport terminal but we are in talks with all the stakeholders and have optimised the entire building. We have also made the experience of boarding a flight easier and quicker,” he said. The Director also said that they are in the process of acquiring about 5.8 acres of land. “Once we get the land, we will expand the existing terminal building and solve parking issues,” he added. Cab drivers, who can ensure the success of an airport in the absence of a robust public transportation system, are hoping to have a prepaid taxi system in place. “If we depend on Ola and Uber, we will not be able to feed our children, and if we are able to feed them, we won’t be able to clothe them,” said Rajeev Thakur, 47, an Ertiga owner, who had parked his car nearly 300 metres away from the exit gate. Thakur said that there are 100 to 150 cabs that come to pick up passengers everyday and the competition is intense. Another cab driver, Vinod Panchal, 38, says one issue is that despite the number of flights growing, the passenger count is low because many are connecting. “We cannot go to Delhi as there is huge competition and the fare is too low. We came here hoping it would increase earnings but there are many connecting flights and passenger numbers are too low,” he said. Shiva, the only e-rickshaw driver around, has found a solution for himself. He charged Rs 50 per passenger to drop them to one of the nearest metro stations — Raj Bagh on the Red Line of the Delhi Metro, which is 5.5 kilometres away. “I am playing a little smart. I drop them at Raj Bagh Metro Station. If I get five people, I drop them for Rs 30 each, otherwise I charge Rs 50 per passenger,” he chuckled. “As soon as I see them emerge from the gate, I run towards them because the security does not let me park closer to the gate,” he said.
