AirAsia India (Bengaluru International) is set to launch operations on June 12 with a daily Bengaluru International to Goa Dabolim service. Thereafter, a double-daily Bangalore Int'l to Chennai service will follow on July 19. Sales of tickets officially began on May 30.
Following the announcement, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) petitioned the Indian government to suspend the airline's launch claiming the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) had acted illegaly when issuing AirAsia India its Air Operators Permit last month.
"It is our request that the government advise the DGCA not to permit AirAsia India to proceed to fly, that too with merely one aircraft with the sole intent of making the decision [to let them fly] a fait accompli and difficult for the government to review," a letter to the Indian Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, read.
New Delhi has yet to issue a comment on the application.
Air Asia India is a joint venture between Malaysia's AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) (49 per cent), Mumbai-based Tata Sons (30 per cent) and Delhi-based Arun Bhatia’s Telstra (21 per cent).
