Akasa Air, which is backed by veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation giants Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dubey, received its air operator certificate from DGCA on July 7.
Akasa Air, which is backed by veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation giants Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dubey, received its air operator certificate from DGCA on July 7.
Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually flagged off Akasa Air’s first commercial flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on August 7.
Akasa Air, backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation giants Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dubey, received its Air Operator Certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 7.
Mr. Jhunjhunwala, who was present at the Mumbai airport, said in his speech: “I must thank you (Scindia) because people say that India has a very bad bureaucracy but the cooperation that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has given us is unbelievable. ”
Nowhere in the world has an airline been conceived and born in 12 months, he said.
“Normally a baby is born in 9 months, we took 12 months. This would not have been possible without the cooperation of the civil aviation ministry,” he said.
The airline’s inaugural flight operated this morning.
After virtually flagging off the flight, Mr Scindia said it is indeed a “new dawn” for the civil aviation sector in India in more ways than one.
“The sector across the world has been going through a very difficult time for the past decade or two. Several Black Swan incidents have changed the fortunes of the industry globally,” he said.
In India, this was a sector that once saw a plethora of new entrants, new entrepreneurs and new ideas. But over the past decade, it has led to the closure of many visionary airlines, he said.
“Therefore, I say this is a new dawn in many ways for our region in India,” he said.
Mr Scindia blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and foresight for the “democratisation” of the civil aviation sector in the country.
“Earlier, this industry was considered for the elite. His dream, his vision – that even a person wearing slippers can fly in an airplane – has transformed the sector in the last eight years in terms of affordability, accessibility . and inclusion like we’ve never seen before,” he said.
“In this new environment, I would like to welcome Akasa Air,” he said.
He claimed that along with the pillars of road and rail transport, the aviation sector would become the hub of transport in India.
“Akasa also has a very ambitious plan. You plan to grow to 72 aircraft in the next five years. I am sure every part of India will be connected by Akasa Air flights,” he said.
About Mr. Jhunjhunwala, he said: “I think the one word that aptly describes him in terms of his life span is “innovation” and that is what we saw in today’s ceremony as well.”
Akasa Air is set to commence services on the Bengaluru-Kochi, Bengaluru-Mumbai and Chennai-Mumbai routes from August 13, August 19 and September 15 respectively.