The Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday virtually inaugurated the first flight of Akasa Air from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. ‘’This indeed is a new dawn for the civil aviation sector in India in more ways than one. That day is not far when along with rail and road transport, civil aviation will become the bulwark of transportation in India,’’ said Scindia who was accompanied by the minister of state VK Singh.
Akasa Air is backed by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation stalwarts Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube. The airline got its air operator certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 7.
Jhujhunwala, 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, it is unbelievable." Nowhere in the world has an airline been conceived and born in 12 months, he added. “Normally a child is born in 9 months, we took 12 months. It would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation," he further said.
Scindia said Akasa Air will certainly make a very important mark especially when the civil aviation industry has been transformed in terms of accessibility, availability, affordability and inclusion.
‘’Over the last eight years, India’s civil aviation industry has been completely transformed. Under the UDAN scheme, we have 425 routes aiming to catch up with 1,000 routes, and 68 new airports with an aim to touch 100 airports. In the next four years, we are expecting 40 crore travellers through civil aviation in India,’’ said Scindia.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the vision of the state government is to make Maharashtra a preferred investment destination for aviation in India with a focus on creating cost-effective aviation infrastructure, seamless regional air connectivity and a sustainable aviation ecosystem.
Akasa Air is the 7th schedule airline with the brand name SNV Aviation, having Corporate Headquarters in Mumbai with Boeing Max - 8 aircraft. Akasa Air plans to be a low-cost carrier with a single fleet and all economy seats. The airline is further planning to expand its activities to 72 aircrafts in the next five years which will significantly enhance the domestic aviation services in India.
