Govt paves way for entry of 3 new airlines after IndiGo chaos

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.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu stated in Parliament that the government has initiated an inquiry into IndiGo’s mass flight cancellations that stranded thousands of flyers across airports in the country. He said strict action will be taken against the operator to set an example for other airlines.

The minister said the chaos was the result of IndiGo’s “internal crisis” after the new passenger safety norms came into force.

He also said the government wants more players in the aviation sector and that the country has the potential to have five major airlines.

At the centre of the chaos were new flight safety rules that the government announced nearly two years ago. These rules focused on tackling pilot fatigue to ensure greater flight safety. The implementation of the rules required airlines to recruit more pilots.

IndiGo, which runs 2,200 flights daily and has traditionally focused on minimising downtime, fell short of crew as the new rules kicked in. This led to hundreds of cancellations, with an ordeal for passengers.

As the situation plunged into a deep crisis, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation temporarily relaxed the new norms till February to enable the beleaguered airline to resume operations.

The IndiGo crisis also prompted the Opposition to flag the duopolistic nature of the Indian civil aviation sector, with IndiGo and Air India holding the bulk of the market share. However, the government clarified that it has always encouraged the entry of new players in the aviation sector.

IANS