New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday flagged off the first commercial flight of Akasa Air Company from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. Akasa Air, backed by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation tycoons Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dubey, received the ‘Air Operator’ Certificate for Flight from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 7.
Jhunjhunwala, who was present at the Mumbai airport, said, “I must thank you (Scindia) because people say India’s bureaucracy is very bad but the cooperation given to us by the civil aviation ministry is unbelievable.” He said that no airline anywhere in the world has been ready in 12 months.
He said, “Usually a baby is born in nine months, it took us 12 months. This would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. After flagging off the flight, Scindia said it is indeed a “new dawn” for the civil aviation sector in India for several reasons. He said, “This sector across the world is going through a very difficult phase for the last one or two decades. Several events have led to changes in this industry globally.”
Scindia claimed that along with road and rail transport, the aviation sector will become a transport hub in India. He said, “AKASA also has a very ambitious plan. It plans to grow to 72 aircraft in the next five years. I am sure that every part of India will be connected by Akasa Air flights.
