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These seven airlines have ceased operations in India over the past decade — Here's a quick look

These seven airlines have ceased operations in India over the past decade — Here's a quick look

Navdeep Yadav

BCCL

The Indian aviation sector has been a grim space for the airlines due to a myriad of factors, including high ATF prices, low production cost and tough competition from low-cost carriers.
These are the Indian airline companies that have ceased operations in the past 10 years:
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AirAsia India has been making headlines over the past few months as the company fights for survival. The Indian arm of AirAsia has been under major financial distress, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made it worse. According to reports, its parent company AirAsia Group Bhd. has also stopped funding the Indian arm as the global travel slump has left the parent company under duress.

A TOI report also suggests that Tata Sons is mulling to acquire the rest of the 49% stake from AirAsia India in this joint venture since the parent company is facing problems. Earlier this week, the Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hinted that the airline may shut operations soon if not rescued. “AirAsia’s shop is anyway shutting down, their parent company has problems,” the aviation minister said.

However, AirAsia India is not the first airline to experience the turbulence in its operations. The Indian aviation sector has been a grim space for the airlines due to a myriad of factors, including high ATF prices, low production cost and tough competition from low-cost carriers. More than half a dozen airlines have ceased their operations over the past decade.

These are the Indian airline companies that have ceased operations in the past 10 years:

Indian Airlines

Indian Airlines, or Indian, was one of the major airlines based in Delhi. The state-owned airline was formed after the merger of eight pre-Independence domestic airline companies.

Indian primarily focused on domestic routes, but also had several international quotes to neighbouring countries in Asia. On February 26, 2011, the company ceased operating under its own brand, and was merged with Air India.

Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), which used to enjoy the second largest market share in Indian aviation ceased its operations in 2012. It ran aground as losses and debt kept piling on.

Ever since KFA started its operations in May 2005, the airline had only reported losses. The acquisition of Bangalore-based Air Deccan in 2007 made it tougher for the airline to survive. Ahead of ceasing operations entirely, it announced the shut down of its low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red in 2011, but that subsidiary was troubled since its inception.

Air Mantra

The regional airline, Air Mantra that made its debut in 2012, was able to stay afloat for only eight month. It ceased operations in 2013 — possibly the shorter run for an Indian airline.

The New Delhi-headquartered domestic airline was founded by Indian conglomerate Religare Group, which wanted a piece of the northern India airline market. The airline was subsequently liquidated after it shut shop citing poor bookings.

Air Pegasus

Another one-hit wonder, the Bangalore-based Kempegowda International Airport-headquartered regional airline, Air Pegasus, suspended its operations in July 2016 — just 15 months after it commenced operations in April 2015.

While ceasing operations, the subsidiary of an aircraft ground-handling services company, Decor Aviation, said it was temporary due to technical issues. However, it later revealed that it was facing financial turbulence and had mounting debts. The airline had a fleet size of three and used to serve eight domestic destinations.

Air Costa

The regional airline company Air Costa owned by LEPL Group, ceased its operations in February 2017, until further notice. The company also cited reasons related to financial difficulties regarding the lease of the aircraft.

The airline was headquartered at Chennai International Airport in Vijayawada and served nine destinations from Chennai International Airport, with 32 daily flights in 2015.

Air Carnival

Air Carnival is another regional domestic airline that was based out of Coimbatore International Airport. The airline initially started with charter flights back in 2013 and later transitioned to passenger operations in July 2016. The airline ceased operations in April 2017 after the airline's engineers went on a two-day strike for non-payment of dues, resulting in the grounding of its lone aircraft.

Jet Airways

The Indian international airline, Jet Airways, was based out of Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The company ceased its operations in April 2019 after facing massive financial turbulence. Jet Airways was the second-largest commercial passenger airline and enjoyed a market share of 17.8% in Indian aviation before it ceased its operations.

The full-carrier airline ran into losses after lowering ticket fares to compete with India's other low-cost-carriers, such as SpiceJet and IndiGo.

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