Centre nod for of 3 new airlines after IndiGo chaos
Keen to encourage competition in domestic aviation sector, says Minister Ram Mohan Naidu
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: The government has granted initial approval to two new airlines to start operations, after the recent chaos in IndiGo operations, which stranded passengers for several days across the country and exposed the abuse of dominance by the largest domestic airline.
The civil aviation ministry granted a “no-objection certificate” to regional airlines - Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress - this week, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a post on X.
He said that the government is keen to encourage more competition in the country’s domestic aviation market.
Al Hind Air, promoted by the Kerala-based Alhind Group, intends to begin operations in southern India with a fleet of ATR Turboprop aircraft. It is in the process of obtaining an Air Operator Certificate. FlyExpress has also stated on its website that it was “coming soon.” Shankh Air is expected to follow with commercial operations next year.
India’s domestic market is effectively functioning as a duopoly with IndiGo commanding as much as 65 per cent of the market, while Air India is in the second spot with a 27 per cent share. Smaller airlines like SpiceJet and Akasa account for the remaining share.
IndiGo was forced to cancel over 4,000 flights earlier this month across major destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports, mainly due to crew shortages. The low-cost carrier ran into a severe crew shortage due to the implementation of the second phase of the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms, which has stranded planes across airports in the country, with travel schedules of flyers going haywire.
