Govt says 11 airlines exited in last 10 years due to loses
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: As many as 11 airlines exited the market in the last 10 years due to financial stress, non-availability of aircraft and other internal issues, according to the government.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the aviation sector is deregulated, and airlines operate based on commercial considerations while the government is committed to ensuring a balanced and resilient sector.
"Since 2016, a total of 11 airlines have exited the market due to reasons such as financial stress, non-availability of aircraft and other internal issues. Further, AirAsia (India) Pvt. Ltd. (now AIX Connect Pvt. Ltd.) has merged with Air India Express Ltd., and Tata SIA Airlines Ltd. (Vistara) has merged into Air India Ltd," he said in a written reply.
Specific details were not disclosed.
To a query on the total outstanding dues of failed airlines to airports, employees, and creditors, Mohol said Kingfisher Airlines had Rs 380.51 crore dues towards the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the claim has been lodged before the official Liquidator at Bengaluru. Kingfisher Airlines had stopped operations in 2012.
The dues of TruJet towards AAI is Rs 0.03 crore while there are no dues of Jet Airways and Go First.
23 aircraft, helicopter accidents in last 5 years The government on Monday said there were 23 accidents involving scheduled, non-scheduled fixed-wing operators and helicopter operators in the last five years, Mohol said.
The rate of accidents involving helicopters per 10,000 hours of flying stood at 0.53 last year, the highest reading in the last 5 years while the rate of accident involving NSOP fixed wing aircraft per 10,000 departures was at 0.27 in 2025, as per the data. NSOP refers to Non-Scheduled Operators.
According to the data, there were 6 accidents last year while the count stood at 3 in 2024 and 4 in 2023. The number was 4 in 2022 and 6 in 2021. Last year, there were 4 helicopter accidents and 1 each involving aircraft of a scheduled operator and a NSOP fixed-wing operator.
