Dholera International Airport is a greenfield airport being built near Navagam, close to the Dholera Special Investment Region. It is designed to grow in phases, from around 1.5 million passengers a year to a long-term target near 50 million. It is implemented through a joint venture led by the Airports Authority of India. As of mid-2026 it is reported to be in its final construction and testing phase, so treat any launch date as planned until officially confirmed.
- Site near Navagam, reported about 80 km from Ahmedabad
- Operator: DIACL, an AAI-led joint venture (reported)
- Phase 1 target reported near 1.5 million passengers a year
- Status: reported final construction and testing phase, mid-2026
Why the airport matters
Every conversation about Dholera eventually lands on the airport. It is the piece of infrastructure that turns a planned smart city into a place the wider world can actually reach in an afternoon. A greenfield international airport does two things at once: it gives industry a fast route for people and high-value cargo, and it gives the surrounding land a reason to appreciate. This guide sticks to what can be verified, and clearly flags anything that is reported or planned rather than confirmed.
AskDholera does not sell plots and takes no money to promote any project, so the aim here is to help you understand the airport honestly. Where a figure is an official target rather than a delivered fact, we say so.
Where the airport is
The airport is being developed near Navagam village, on a site reported to span around 1,426 hectares. It sits roughly 20 km from the Dholera Special Investment Region and is reported to be about 80 km from Ahmedabad. That places it inside the Ahmedabad-Dholera growth corridor rather than deep in a remote area, which is central to its logic: it is meant to serve both Dholera SIR and the wider Ahmedabad region.
Because the site is greenfield, planners had room to lay out a long runway and a terminal designed for expansion from the start, instead of retrofitting a constrained city airport.
Phases and capacity
The airport is planned as a phased build, which is standard for greenfield projects of this scale. The reported capacity targets are:
Phase 1
~1.5M passengers / year (planned)The first phase is designed to open passenger and cargo services at a smaller but functional scale. Phase 1 civil works were reported complete in December 2025.
Final phase
~50M passengers / year (planned)Over the long term, the airport is planned to scale toward roughly 50 million passengers a year with expanded terminals and cargo capacity. This is a long-horizon target, not a near-term figure.
The runway is reported to be built to handle wide-body aircraft, and a dedicated cargo handling facility and an air traffic control tower are reported to be part of the completed structures. Treat exact capacity numbers as planned targets and confirm them against official announcements before relying on them.
Reported status in 2026
Here is where honesty matters most. As of mid-2026, the airport is reported to be in its final construction and testing phase rather than in full commercial operation. Publicly reported milestones include Phase 1 civil works completed in December 2025, calibration activity in early 2026, and the passenger terminal structure, cargo facility and ATC tower described as built.
What is not settled here is a confirmed, official public date for the first scheduled commercial flights. Different sources quote different timelines. So the responsible position is simple: the airport is reported to be close to operational readiness, but you should verify a confirmed commercial launch date from official sources before making travel or investment decisions that depend on it. If a date is unknown to us with certainty, we say it is unknown rather than guess.
Who operates the airport
The airport is implemented through Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL). The ownership is reported as a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India (51%), the Government of Gujarat (33%) and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust, NICDIT (16%). With AAI holding the majority, DIACL functions as an AAI-led venture. That structure matters to buyers because it signals central and state backing rather than a single private promoter carrying the project alone.
Connectivity the airport unlocks
An airport is only as useful as the roads and rail feeding it. Dholera's connectivity story has moved forward on several fronts:
Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway
The roughly 109 km Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway was inaugurated on 31 March 2026 and is reported to cut the Ahmedabad-to-Dholera drive to about 45 to 50 minutes. That single link changes how reachable the entire region, and the airport site, feels.
Rail and metro
A rapid rail and metro connection between the Ahmedabad side and Dholera has been planned and is progressing, with construction and operational timelines that are reported and still evolving. Treat specific rail dates as planned until officially confirmed.
Together, the expressway plus the airport give Dholera something most new industrial regions lack early on: a credible way for people and goods to move in and out quickly.
Impact on land value
Infrastructure and land value tend to move together, and the airport is one of the strongest signals in the Dholera story. Land near a functioning airport corridor generally draws more interest for commercial, logistics and residential use, because access is the thing buyers and businesses pay for. Several TP zones near the airport are talked about precisely because of this proximity.
The honest caveat: expectation is not a guarantee. Prices in Dholera are influenced by many factors at once, including zoning, approvals, the specific TP scheme and the exact plot. An airport nearby is a genuine long-term tailwind, but it does not turn every plot into a sure thing. For how prices actually work, read our Dholera plot prices guide, and to size a scenario yourself, use the plot price calculator. If you are still choosing who to buy from, the neutral developer guide walks through the checks that matter.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dholera Airport operational?
As of mid-2026 it is reported to be in its final construction and testing phase, with Phase 1 civil works reported complete in December 2025. A confirmed public commercial launch date should be verified from official sources before you rely on it.
How far is Dholera Airport from Ahmedabad?
The site near Navagam is reported to be about 80 km from Ahmedabad and roughly 20 km from Dholera SIR. The Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway, opened on 31 March 2026, is reported to cut the drive to about 45 to 50 minutes.
Who operates Dholera International Airport?
It is implemented through DIACL, a joint venture reported to be held by the Airports Authority of India (51%), the Government of Gujarat (33%) and NICDIT (16%), making it an AAI-led venture.
What passenger capacity is planned?
Phase 1 targets roughly 1.5 million passengers a year, with a long-term planned scale toward about 50 million. These are planned figures and should be confirmed against official announcements.