New Delhi: Three new airlines are set to start operations in India soon, giving air travellers more options.
While Al Hind Air and FlyExpress received their No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Centre this week, Shankh Air had secured clearance earlier, as reported by The New Indian Express.
When seen in the backdrop of the IndiGo disruption in the first week of December, this development is significant. The severe disruption of flight operations drew sharp criticism of the government over an alleged duopoly in the domestic aviation sector.
The clearances follow a meeting held last week between the civil aviation ministry and teams from the three carriers seeking to commence operations in India.
“While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs in this week. It has been endeavour of the ministry to encourage more airlines in Indian Aviation which is amongst the fastest growing aviation markets in the world owing to the policies of the government of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji. Schemes like UDAN, has enabled smaller carriers, Star Air, India One Air, Fly91 etc. to play an important role in the regional connectivity within the country and there is more scope for further growth,” civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said in a post on X.
The report says that the ministry has sought details from the new airlines regarding the sectors they plan to operate in and the aircraft they intend to deploy. The response is awaited.
Once these details are available, new schedules will be prepared for all airports from where the new airlines will operate from. Necessary infrastructure, in the form of counters and baggage scanners will then have to be set up accordingly.
