Fly91 gets air operator’s certificate, to start flights soon

The grant of the air operator certificate marks the completion of all regulatory and compliance requirements for the airline to begin its commercial operations, the airline said in a statement.

“We now look forward to commencing the sale of tickets leading to the start of commercial operations soon,” managing director and chief executive officer of Fly91, Manoj Chacko said.

The airline has been allocated its first set of routes under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik. This includes routes to Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded and Agatti from Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Pune under the UDAN 5.0 of the civil aviation ministry.

The regional airline currently has a fleet of two ATR 72-600 aircraft, which it leased in January from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Identified with code ‘IC,’ the airline aims to enhance air connectivity and tap the growing demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. It is also the first Indian airline to use Goa’s Manohar International Airport as its home base.

Under a five-year plan, the airline aims to strengthen last-mile connectivity by including 50 cities across India in its network. The airline also aims to induct 30 aircraft into its fleet which will be based at multiple hubs across the country.

The startup airline is led by Manoj Chacko, an industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience in large corporations as well as startups across Emirates, Kingfisher Airlines, SOTC, and WNS Global Services, among others.

The company is also backed by Harsha Raghavan, the former head of Fairfax India. His investment firm Convergent Finance has pledged ₹200 crore as the project outlay for the upcoming airline. The airline’s early investors also include Rajeev Chitrabhanu, founder of investment platform Magnetic.

For now, the company will set up its first base at the Mopa airport of Goa, followed by bases in north, west, east, and south of the country with six-seven aircraft parked at each of the bases. It is also exxploring operations at Hindon airport, upcoming Noida International airport at Jewar, Navi Mumbai airport, and Nasik among others.

Milestone Alert!
Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Published: 06 Mar 2024, 04:51 PM IST