[6][7][8] The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) asked the State Government in November 2012 to hand over the airfield in Moradabad along with an additional 120–140 ha (300–350 acres) of land, free of cost, to the AAI in order to upgrade the airfield for commercial operations.

The AAI had proposed to develop a taxi track, an apron, isolation bay, navigational aids, localiser, glide path, terminal building, Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and hangars.

[11] Construction of the airport began in 2015, and it was completed along with an upgraded runway, a taxi track, the approach road, and the passenger terminal in June 2022.

The first flight took five more months, and after multiple delays a 19-seater passenger plane took off from the airport for Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, on 10th of August, 2024.

First passenger flight was for Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on a 19-seater aircraft from Flybig Airlines in August 2024.

[28][29] A dedicated fuel station is also missing at the moment and flights are refuelled using oil containers transported regularly to the airport.

[27] The AAI plans to expand the Moradabad Airport in two phases, and it has asked for 200 ha (500 acres) of land to be provided free of cost for this expansion from the UP Government.