Budget carrier AirAsia has overcome a crucial hurdle in plans to start a joint venture airline in India.
Founder Tony Fernandes said Indian aviation authorities had “no objection” to the creation of the start-up airline, paving the way for it to obtain an operating permit.
Malaysia-based AirAsia aims to establish the carrier in conjunction with India’s Tata Group, and a New Delhi-based businessman.
The government move came just days after the Tata Group said it planned to establish a new Indian full-service carrier in a partnership with Singapore Airlines.
Fernandes said on Twitter yesterday that he was “thrilled” that New Delhi had given his proposed Indian subsidiary the go-ahead, calling the new carrier “very exciting and hugely profitable”.
However, the venture must still obtain an air operators permit, the last big bureaucratic hurdle to starting services – a process likely to take another few months before AirAsia India can launch flights, the Financial Times reported.