New Delhi [India], March 12 : Fly 91, the latest entrant in the Indian civil aviation space, launched its inaugural between Mopa in Goa and Agatti in Lakshadweep on Tuesday. Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has flagged off the inaugural flight virtually from New Delhi.
The flight operator announced it would begin commercial services on March 18 with flights connecting Goa to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
"For two decades, we only heard about airlines being closed, not only small but big airlines, international airlines. Today, six new airlines are there in the same country under the UDAN scheme...18 routes have been awarded to them (FLY91) under the UDAN scheme. I would also like to wish all the best to their entire team. India's civil aviation is now gaining new momentum under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Scindia said.
Fly91, which currently operates two ATR 72-600 aircraft, is confident that it would add an additional six planes within the next six months.
When asked about expansion plans, Harsha Ranganathan, the chairman of regional airline, stated, "This is just the beginning, and we will focus more on tier 2-3 cities in the coming days."
Fly91 chairman praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his government's efforts in pushing the aviation sector.
"Today is a historic day for Fly91 as it takes flight first time with the hope to start many flights per day... our vision to connect all the airports in the country," Harsha Raghvan, chairman, Fly91 told ANI.
The aviation regulator, DGCA, granted Air Operation Certificate on March 6 for operating flights under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) and Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). AOC is an authorisation that is must for an operator to carry out specified commercial air transport operations.
The airline will be largely targeting tier Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns across India.
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