Air Odisha (Bhubaneshwar) and Deccan Charters (Bengaluru International), which both won routes under India's connectivity scheme known as UDAN, should begin operations by the end of September, reports India's Business Standard.
"Out of a total five procedural requirements, the two airlines have completed two processes that need to be completed with the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the issue of a licence to start a regional airline," an official with the Ministry of Civil Aviation said. "They have also approached the authorities for importing six Beechcraft aircraft between them."
Of those six, Air Odisha plans to acquire five. "We have almost finalised the deal for aircraft and lessor," said Air Odisha's CEO, Sanjay Arya.
Five carriers were awarded routes under the UDAN scheme, which aims to connect underserved regions and bring air travel to all citizens. Alliance Air (India) (9I, Delhi International), SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) and TruJet (TRJ, Hyderabad International) have commenced operating some of their allocated UDAN routes. Air Odisha won the lion's share of allocations, with 50 routes, while Deccan was awarded thirty-four routes.
If Air Odisha and Deccan do not commence their operations by end-September, they risk losing their allocations altogether.
