IndiGo Fallout: Government Gives NOC to 2 upcoming Airlines

Seeing the consequences of a duopoly in Indian skies earlier this month when IndiGo schedule collapsed, the aviation ministry has stepped up its efforts to guarantee Indian flyers have more choices when it comes to airlines. It has delivered NOCs to 2 proposed airlines this week.

“Over the last week, I met teams from new airlines ambitious to take wings in Indian skies, Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress. While Shankh Air has by now received the NOC from the Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have established theirs this week. The ministry has endeavoured to increase the number of airlines in Indian aviation, which is amongst the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world, through the policies of the Modi government. Schemes such as UDAN have allowed smaller carriers Star Air, India One Air, Fly91, etc. to play a vital role in the regional connectivity within the nation and there is more scope for further growth,” Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday.

The aviation industry needs the government to take a close look at factors that have led to India having among the highest airline operating costs globally, namely high jet fuel prices and taxes. “In the Indian aviation ecosystem, nearly all stakeholders, barring airlines, make money. That’s why we keep seeing airlines collapse frequently over the last three decades, and even longer. A new airline can be floated, but the same remaining airborne because of numerous factors like high-cost structure, taxes, lack of management bandwidth and thin funding is a big challenge,” said an old timer.

To be sure, airline collapses are a worldwide phenomenon and not limited to India. The added worrying factor here is the cost-hostile environment for airlines. “Flying is no longer a luxury and the dream that it remains in the reach of the common man makes it obligatory to have cost and tax rationalization,” said a senior airline official.

Source: MSN