NEW DELHI: A new airline is all set to take to the skies as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday granted air operator’s certificate to Goa-based Just Udo Aviation Pvt Ltd to operate its airline Fly91. The grant of the air operator certificate marks the completion of all regulatory and compliance requirements for the airline to begin its commercial operations.
“We now look forward to commencing the sale of tickets leading to the start of commercial operations soon,” managing director and chief executive officer of Fly91, Manoj Chacko said. The company had earlier wanted to start operations by December 2023. FLY91 received its first ATR 72-600, one of the two aircraft leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, last week.
The Goa-based airline has already been allocated its first set of routes under the government’s regional air connectivity scheme UDAN. Under UDAN, the airline will connect Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded in Maharashtra and Agatti in Lakshadweep. The airline has plans to strengthen last-mile connectivity by including 50 cities across India in its network in the next five yeas. It also wants to induct 30 aircraft into its fleet.
It had earlier said about catering to the short-haul segment and connecting underserved places where demand is not viable enough for larger airlines. Led by Manoj Chacko, an aviation industry veteran, the startup airline is also backed by Harsha Raghavan, the former head of Fairfax India.