New airlines may have little impact: Experts

THE sudden clearance given to two new airlines-the Kozhikode-based Alhind and FlyExpress-by the Centre, which awaited the nod for nearly a year, and the Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu himself announcing the decision appears to be a strong message in light of the disruption caused by the IndiGo crisis from December 1 to 9.

- S LALITHA @ New Delhi

However, experts are weighing in if the new airlines can impact the domestic market.The dominant opinion among aviation professionals is that the newbies may not have any impact on the market share of players like IndiGo, Air India, and Air India Express. Captain C S Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, is critical of the decision. He said, "All these three airlines have neither enough funding nor expertise. The best of the airlines have not survived. No regional airlines have survived in this country. These airlines are not a threat to any operating airlines in the country as they cannot survive on non-UDAN routes."

Shank Air, based in Uttar Pradesh, too was given the nod last year and plans to begin operations in 2026.