AirAsia has received an operating licence for its Indian low cost airline as competition intensifies in one of the world’s fastest growing air-travel markets.
The airline’s chief executive officer Tony Fernandes announced receipt of the permit yesterday on his Twitter account.
AirAsia India will be based in the southern city of Chennai, and the budget carrier will fly Airbus A320 aircraft mainly to smaller cities.
Fernandes has said he is aiming to attract passengers from the million people who take trains every day in India.
It will be the first airline with foreign investment to operate in India, reports the BBC.
India opened up its aviation market to foreign investment in 2012 in an attempt to boost growth in the sector and the overall economy.
Since then AirAsia and Singapore Airlines have both tied up with India’s Tata Group for separate ventures while Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has bought a stake in Jet Airways (India).
AirAsia waited more than a year for an operating licence after winning an initial nod in March 2013 to form a venture, and had aimed to start flying in the South Asian nation by last December.
