Noida International Airport commenced commercial operations on Monday with a jet flying to Lucknow the farmers whose land had been acquired for the project.

Flyers, however, struggled to reach Jewar airport because of the “confusing location” on Google Maps.

The first plane to take off was a special flight carrying around 170 farmers, including several women, led by Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, to Lucknow at 9am.

While IndiGo’s Lucknow-Noida flight was the first to touch down at the airport at 8am, the airline’s first commercial flight from the facility carrying over 100 passengers took off to Bengaluru at 9.35am.

Farmers, who once tilled the fields on which the airport now stands, became the first fliers from the airport, which is expected to ease air connectivity in western Uttar Pradesh.

The farmers arrived at the airport early in the morning in a group to board the first flight out. For some, it was their first air travel, but all seemed elated to be part of the moment.

“I will sit in a flight for the first time. I am a bit nervous but excited to be part of this moment. Happy and excited too,” said a 90-year-old farmer, Charan Singh.

“I used to plough this land with a tractor. Today, I will fly to Lucknow from this land,” said elated farmer Harish Pandit, who said he had given his land for the airport’s development.

Another farmer, Devender Kumar Sharma, said: “I have done farming here. I have cultivated this land for years.”

Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said that a special arrangement had been made for the first flight to Lucknow, specifically for the farmers who contributed their land to the project.

“Meeting the farmers and their families who contributed land for Noida International Airport was truly special. Seeing them among the first passengers from the airport was a reminder that India’s aviation growth is powered by the aspirations of its people,” he said.

Several passengers, however, faced connectivity issues as they had to pay around ₹1,000 for cabs to reach the airport, which is not linked to any public transport services at the moment. The airport is working with public and private bus service providers to improve connectivity.

Flyers also complained about navigation issues and a lack of proper signboards to guide them to the airport. Ranvir, who was flying to Amritsar, complained that Google Maps took him to the cargo side of the airport instead of the arrival zone.

Some passengers were, however, happy to see an airport in western Uttar Pradesh as it would slashed travel time.

On Monday, four IndiGo flights to and from Noida to Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Amritsar operated.