India's Alliance Air eyes Jaffna, Batticaloa ops

The Indian government has retroactively granted Alliance Air (India) (9I, Mumbai Int'l) approval to start international flights despite not meeting certain benchmark criteria. Normally, airlines in India are required to operate at least 20 aircraft to qualify for international service rights. However, Alliance Air currently operates nineteen Avions de Transport Régional turboprops, including one ATR42-300 and eighteen ATR72-600s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has granted ex-post facto dispensation to Alliance Air, a 100% subsidiary of Air India, to fly on international sectors between India and Sri Lanka. A special dispensation is allowed for the interim period till Alliance Air deploys a minimum of 20 aircraft or 20% of total capacity, whichever is higher for domestic operations," a Ministry of Civil Aviation statement said.

The decision is retroactive as Alliance Air launched its first international route, from Chennai to Jaffna in Sri Lanka, in November last year. It remains the sole carrier serving the city in northern Sri Lanka and currently...

Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) will likely transfer the ownership of four B747-400s, used for VIP transport, to its wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air (India) (9I, Mumbai Int'l) as a part of the state-owned carrier's ongoing privatisation process, CNBC TV18 has reported citing unnamed sources.

While the aircraft will be formally transferred to Alliance Air, Air India will continue to operate them until they are replaced by newer B777-300(ER)s, procured by the government, which are expected to deliver by the end of this year.

The transaction is part of a broader cleanup of Air India's assets as the government readies the carrier for its latest disposal drive. Unlike in 2018 where there were no takers for a 74% stake in the heavily-indebted carrier, this latest round will see 100% of Air India being offered up for sale.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Alliance Air currently operates one ATR42-300 and eighteen ATR72-600s on domestic routes in India.

The four B747-400s operated by Air India, which are between 23.2 and...

FitsAir (8D, Colombo Int'l) has conducted a trial flight between Jaffna and Chennai, India on November 7 as a prelude to the regional carrier offering scheduled services from the end of the month.

Following the successful test flight to Chennai, Vice Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services, Priyantha Kariyapperuma told Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror: "The airline will get the licence to operate flights from Jaffna to Chennai soon and will operate flights three times a week.”

FitsAir intends to use its sole ATR72-200, 4R-EXN (msn 373), on the 191-nautical mile (354-kilometre) international sector to India. The carrier made its international passenger service debut after it operated a one-off charter flight between Colombo Ratmalana and Vishakhapatnam in August. It operated its first scheduled service in March, when it began flights between Ratmalana and Batticaloa.

Alliance Air (India) (9I, Mumbai Int'l) is also planning to add the Sri Lankan airport to its scheduled network, after it conducted a one-off charter service in October.