A child dressed as a pilot at the arrivals area of Noida International Airport, in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar received its first landing on June 15, 2026, with an IndiGo flight from Lucknow.
It was followed by the airport’s first takeoff with a flight back to Lucknow.
The plane carried people from the Jewar region whose land was acquired by the State government for the first phase of the airport’s development.
Codenamed ‘DXN’, the airport is a move to enhance air connectivity between western Uttar Pradesh, the National Capital Region, and other parts of the country.
But why is the Noida airport called ‘DXN’? How are other airports code named? Who decides?
Jewar Airport: Delhi-Noida connectivity
The airport located in the Jewar area of Western Uttar Pradesh comes under the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. According to the airport’s former CEO, Christoph Schnellmann, “the D in DXN signifies Delhi, which is the national capital, and N stands for Noida, which shows our presence in the Western UP area. X, we think, signifies connectivity within India and the world,” as reported by PTI in 2023. Interestingly, ‘Noida’ itself is an acronym for ‘New Okhla Industrial Development Authority’.
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Who decides the airport codes?
Each airport has two airport codes. The code that is written on your boarding pass, ticket details, and signage around the airport itself is a three-letter code decided by the International Air Transport Association or IATA, a global airline trade body. For example, ‘DXN’ for Noida International Airport, ‘DEL’ for Delhi International Airport and ‘MAA’ for Chennai International Airport, a reminder that the city was previously known as Madras.
All airports also have a four-letter code for pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight planners. These are assigned by the International Civil Aviation Organisation or ICAO, a specialised body of the United Nations.
How are airport codes decided?
There are many ways in which passenger-facing codes are decided. Usually, the first three letters of the airport’s name are used. In the case of Noida, the ‘X’ denotes connectivity, and ‘D’ and ‘N‘ denote the two closest cities. Some airports that were erstwhile military airports start with ‘IX’, such as ‘IXC’ for Chandigarh International Airport.
The behind-the-scenes code or the ICAO code has a much stricter way of naming, as it is used by officials and navigators.
The first letter of the code represents the global region. The second letter identifies the specific country or region, and the third and fourth letters specify the exact airfield.
Noida Airport’s ICAO code is VIND. ‘V’ represents the globally accepted identifier for the South Asia region. ‘I’ is for Northern India’s flight information region. ‘ND’ stands for Noida and Delhi.
Controversies over airport names
The Gaya Airport in Bihar came under the spotlight in 2021 when a parliamentary committee called its IATA code ‘GAY’ “offensive, embarrassing and inappropriate” for a holy place. Lawmakers alleged that since Bodh Gaya is a deeply revered place in Buddhism and Hinduism, its airport code should not have links to homosexual terminology. This was rejected by IATA since airport codes are permanent assets under its Resolution 763.
Gaya Airport in Bihar
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu
In 2025, MP Bhim Singh revived the controversy, leading to Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, to confirm that the code cannot be changed since it poses no security threat.
Social media users often point out other airport codes such as ‘COK’ for Cochin International Airport in Kerala. It was named after the city’s old British spelling, ‘Cokchin.’ Other interesting names include ‘DIE’ for Madagascar’s Arrachart Airport and ‘HEL’ for the Helsinki airport in Finland.
Published – June 15, 2026 12:46 pm IST
