India, Nov. 27 -- A latecomer on India's aviation map, the Indian Air Force (IAF) owned-and-operated Hindon airport in Ghaziabad saw its first commercial flight in October 2019 - after much debate and discussion between the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA), IAF, and Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). Initially, the idea was to promote regional connectivity and give a fillip to the UDAN scheme. While a few airlines started operating flights from Hindon, the pandemic caused curtains to fall after a short appearance on the aviation stage.

It was only in March 2025 that commercial operations were revived, when the low-fare airline of the Tatas, Air India Express (AIX), unable to secure time slots at the DIAL airport, began operatin...