What's New With Indian Airlines

In an endeavour of the ministry to encourage more airlines in Indian Aviation, three airlines, Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress, have received no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the government. They have received the Ministry of Civil Aviation's nod to open new airlines.

This follows close on the heels of the major IndiGo crisis which shook Indian aviation. However, a NOC in aviation is just the first step and does not guarantee flying rights; it allows an airline to start the setup process, but they still need to secure critical approvals like the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and arrange aircraft, crew, and infrastructure before actual commercial flights can begin.

In a recent post on X, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu disclosed that the aviation ministry has granted to three airline companies.

"Over the last one week, I am pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies—Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress. While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from the ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs this week,' he said on social media platform, X, formerly Twitter.

"It has been an endeavour of the ministry to encourage more airlines in Indian Aviation which is amongst the fastest growing aviation markets in the world owing to the policies of the government of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji. Schemes like UDAN, have enabled smaller carriers Star Air, India One Air, Fly91 etc. to play an important role in the regional connectivity within the country and there is more scope for further growth," the post added.

In early December 2025, IndiGo suffered an unprecedented operational meltdown that halted domestic air travel with the cancellation of over 5,000 flights within a single week, with roughly 1,600 flights grounded on 5 December alone. The crisis was triggered by new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations for pilots to get enough rest between flights, for which the airlines had a preparation window of eighteen months but failed to implement on time.

The approvals come as the government signals renewed intent to widen participation. At present, only nine scheduled domestic airlines are operational. This move is also a step towards ending duopoly in the Indian skies: IndiGo and Air India.

As of late 2025, India has major players like IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet, along with regional carriers like Alliance Air, Star Air, and IndiaOne Air with newer entrants like Al Hind Air and FlyExpress expected soon to boost competition.

Earlier, speaking at the Rajya Sabha, Naidu said, "We have envisioned the demand to be growing at such a rate that we want to have more airlines in the picture... The demand that India is creating today, we need to have five big airlines, and that has been the effort from the ministry to encourage more airlines to join the industry."

Highlighting that the ministry has continuously been working to encourage competition, Naidu said, "There are the smaller airlines also, which we have encouraged in the last five, six years. We want more players to be in this industry. This is the time to start an airline in India."

IndiGo dominates the Indian domestic airline market with over 63-65 per cent share, followed by the Tata Group (Air India, Air India Express, Vistara) as the second major player (around 26-27 per cent combined), while Akasa Air and SpiceJet trail with smaller shares (around 5 per cent and 2-3 per cent respectively).

Al Hind Air is backed by the Kerala-based Al Hind Group; plans a regional commuter model. FlyExpress details are yet to be public. Shankh Air aims to operate regional routes within and beyond Uttar Pradesh.