New Delhi: Goa-based Just Udo Aviation Pvt Ltd was granted air operator’s certificate by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 6, 2024 to operate its airline Fly91.
The airline Fly91 in a statement said that the grant of the air operator certificate marks the completion of all regulatory and compliance requirements for the airline to begin its commercial operations. The air operator’s certificate is an authorisation that is must for an operator to carry out specified commercial air transport operations. The airline has been allocated its first set of routes under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik. This includes routes to Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded and Agatti from Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Pune under the UDAN 5.0 of the civil aviation ministry. Just Udo Aviation received the civil aviation ministry’s nod to start the airline under the brand name Fly91 in April 2023.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fly91, Manoj Chacko said, “We now look forward to commencing the sale of tickets leading to the start of commercial operations soon.”
Fly91 took off from Manohar International Airport, Mopa in Goa to Bengaluru on March 2, 2024. Last week, Goa-based regional carrier Fly91 operated its first-ever ATR 72-600 flight from Mopa airport and received a water cannon salute at the Mopa airport. Recently, the airline has successfully completed the test flights or proving flights to secure AOC.
Currently, the regional airline has a fleet of two ATR 72-600 aircraft, which it leased in January from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Identified with code ‘IC,’ the airline aims to enhance air connectivity and tap the growing demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. It is also the first Indian airline to use Goa’s Manohar International Airport as its home base.
The airline, under a five-year plan, aims to strengthen last-mile connectivity by including 50 cities across India in its network. The airline also aims to induct 30 aircraft into its fleet which will be based at multiple hubs across the country.
Led by Manoj Chacko, an industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience in large corporations as well as startups across Emirates, Kingfisher Airlines, SOTC, and WNS Global Services, among others, the startup airline Fly91 is also backed by Harsha Raghavan, the former head of Fairfax India. His investment firm Convergent Finance has pledged Rs 200 crore as the project outlay for the upcoming airline. The airline’s early investors also include Rajeev Chitrabhanu, founder of investment platform Magnetic.
The airline Fly91 will set up its first base at the Mopa airport of Goa, followed by bases in north, west, east, and south of the country with six-seven aircraft parked at each of the bases. It is also exploring operations at Hindon airport, upcoming Noida International airport at Jewar, Navi Mumbai airport, and Nasik among others.
