The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamsabad near Hyderabad was to become operational on March 16. However, the process was delayed due to "operational" reasons including shifting of equipments from the old Hyderabad airport, which will be closed down for commercial operations.
The new airport will become operational from 0001 hours on March 23, an official spokesperson said in Hyderabad.
On March 14, the GMR Group, which has built the greenfield airport at Shamsabad, said in a statement that the airport was "ready in all aspects".
It said, some airlines had approached the Civil Aviation Ministry "seeking more time to begin operations" from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
"Acceding to their requests, the Ministry has advised us to begin operations in a few days. We will intimate the new date and will commence operations soon," GMR added.