South India back on aviation runway

New airlines and eVTOL startups plan regional and electric takeoffs

- SHINE JACOB

In the early 1990s, when India opened its skies to the private sector, the first airline to become operational was Thiruvananthapuram-based East-West Airlines.

Over the years, South India witnessed the rise and fade-out of several carriers including Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan, Air Pegasus, Air Carnival, Paramount Airways, and TruJet-with the region's airlines losing their prominence on the aviation map.

However, in late December 2025, when Union Minister of Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu announced that Kerala-based Al Hind Air and Hyderabad-based Fly Express had received no-objection certificates (NOCs) from his ministry, it injected momentum into a new wave of aviation firms emerging from South India. Others include a Mysore-based aviation venture by medical technology (medtech) major Skanray Technologies and another Kerala-based carrier, Air Kerala. When Business Standard contacted them, officials from Al Hind Air and Skanray said they hope to begin operations by mid-2026.

The region is also seeing a surge of electric aircraft startups, including Chennai-based The ePlane Company (electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, air taxis), Hyderabad-based BluJ Aerospace (hydrogen eVTOLs), and Bengaluru-based Sarla-Aviation. Most of these firms expect to begin operations within six months to a year, pointing to a renewed phase for South Indian aviation.