The first flights have been arriving this week at India's newest and largest air terminal.

The Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi has opened for all international operations, with a state-run Air India flight from New York the first to land on Wednesday.

Jet Airways was the first private carrier to bring its passengers through Terminal 3 with a flight in from Kathmandu on the same day.

With the commencement of operations at the new Terminal 3, the Indira Gandhi International has become India's and South Asia's largest and most important aviation hub, with a current capacity of handling more than 46 million passengers.

According to administrators at the airport, more than 100 million passengers will go through the airport halls by 2030.

Domestic operations of Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher airlines will now shift to T3 while budget carriers will operate from T2.