AirAsia India to operate from Chennai
Posted on: 14/Dec/2013 2:06:26 PM
AirAsia India is widely expected to secure the AOP in January after officials from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) visit the company’s training centre in Malaysia to certify the operations.In normal circumstances, it would take two months for an airline to start its commercial flights after securing the AOP.
AirAsia India had approached DGCA for the permit on Oct 4, two weeks after it received a no-objection certificate from the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry.
The March 2014 dateline is, however, much delayed from AirAsia Bhd supreme Tan Sri Tony Fernandes’ initial target of a November 2013 launch.
According to Indian legislation, the DGCA grants AOPs after accessing the preparedness of a start-up airline, which includes the carrier’s availability of aircraft, manpower to operate flights and handle ground facilities, aircraft parking at airports and engineering facilities.
AirAsia’s training academy in Sepang, which is close to the current low-cost carrier terminal, is widely known in the aviation industry as the “Asian Aviation Centre of Excellence”.
The training academy is equipped with six flight simulators which are run and maintained by CAE, a leading provider of integrated training solutions and advanced simulation and control technologies to the global aviation industry.
The academy is also utilised by various foreign airlines as a training ground inclusive of several Indian airlines.
AirAsia India is a joint venture between AirAsia, Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace with a 49:30:21 shareholding ratio.
The new airline plans to operate from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and focus on providing domestic Tier II/Tier III city connectivity for Indian travellers.
Chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, is the chief adviser for the budding airline while Tata Group veteran, Subramanian Ramadorai, is its first chairman.
