Start-up carrier Flypop has confirmed Stansted at its first UK airport base.
The airline plans low cost flights to second cities in south Asia from October, with a focus on India.
A spokesperson said: “The Flypop team see strong long-term demand for direct flights between Stansted and key secondary cites of India.”
The company set up its corporate headquarters at the Essex airport a year ago.
Founder and chief executive Navdip Singh Judge said at the time: “Stansted is a great base for our long haul flights to India. A lot of investment has been put into the airport which makes it great for start-ups like Flypop.”
It cited the fact that 70% of the UK’s four million Indian and South Asian diaspora live within a two hour drive of Stansted.
More than 1.5 million UK Indians are close to or within easy reach of the airport, including 900,000 in London and the southern regions of England and 363,000 in the Midlands.
Directly targeting the growing Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market, Flypop is also looking at other regional UK airports to operate services to India and South Asia including East Midlands and Birmingham airports.
Flypop hopes to start with a passenger feed agreement with one of the major low cost carriers that operate from Stansted to Europe.
A lease deal for “multiple” Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft was signed in April, enabling the airline to submit its air operator’s certificate application to the Civil Aviation Authority.