India’s newest airline Akasa Air obtains AOC and launch in late July

Akasa Air, India’s newest airline, has received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), allowing the airline to continue with its plans to launch operations in late July 2022.

On July 7, 2022, the carrier obtained its operator’s permit, proving that the start-up airline meets all necessary regulatory and compliance requirements needed to begin its first flights.

“The process concluded with the airline having successfully conducted a number of proving flights under the supervision of the country’s aviation regulator,” Akasa Air wrote in a statement.

The new airline, which will perform flights under the code ‘QP’, has already taken delivery of its first aircraft. According to Planespotters.com data, it is the airline’s first, and currently only, plane. The three-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8, registered VT-YAA, joined the carrier in June 2022.

Akasa Air has a total of 72 Boeing 737 MAX family jets on order, all of which are powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines. The order, which is expected to make the airline’s fleet the youngest and greenest in India, was placed in November 2022, and was valued at almost $9 billion at list prices at the time.

Back in June, the airline’s CEO Vinay Dube warned that the company could postpone the launch of its regular flights until the end of 2023 because it was not able to reach necessary agreements with airports without providing its AOC. However, it appears that the airline was able to overcome the obstacle and is now ready to proceed with its initial plan to commence flying during summer 2022.