AirAsia India (AAI), the Tata Group promoted budget airline, in partnership with Malaysia’s Air Asia group, is hopeful of starting international operations by the end of this year, Sunil Bhaskaran, its recently appointed MD and CEO, told FE on the sidelines of a recently held aviation summit.
The statement assumes significance as AirAsia India is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly bribing and lobbying government officials to change the civil aviation regulations that made it mandatory for an airline to have completed five years of domestic operations with at least 20 aircraft in its fleet, to be eligible to fly overseas. The airline made an application to the ministry of civil aviation in the month of January seeking permission to fly international.
Vistara, another Tata group airline promoted in partnership with Singapore Airlines, had also applied for flying overseas in June 2018 under the new aviation policy which only requires a carrier to have a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft, but is yet to get approval. Vistara currently has 22 aircraft.
