India's newest and cheapest airline: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's Akasa Air launches its first commercial flight

 

The airline's fleet will initially operate on 5 routes, then pan India

The country's youngest airline Akasa Air formally commenced commercial operations when its maiden flight, QP1101, took off from Mumbai to Ahmedabad at 10.05 am on Sunday. The fully booked flight carried 189 passengers as well as cockpit and cabin crew.

Flagging off the flight virtually from the Civil Aviation Ministry headquarters in New Delhi, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “There is an old Hindi saying that after a dark night there is always a new dawn. It is indeed a new dawn, a new awakening in many ways for the civil aviation sector in India."

The minister said the aviation sector globally has been passing through a very difficult phase in the last decade or two, with several Black Swan incidents having a profound impact on its fate.

“In India, this sector which once saw a plethora of new entrants, new entrepreneurs and new ideas, has unfortunately witnessed the closure of many visionary airlines in the past decade. And, therefore, this Sunday morning celebration marks the beginning of a new dawn in many ways for our region in India,” the minister said.

The launch of Akasa is also significant as it is the first time in eight years that a major scheduled carrier with an India-registered livery has commenced operations after a gap of nearly eight years.

General Vijay Kumar Singh, Minister of State for Civil Aviation said, “It is a great occasion when a new airline takes off in the skies in India, named Akasa (Sky). You rule the skies and create history in the aviation market of India.