7 airlines closed down in 5 years; 16 carriers operational now: Govt data

A total of seven airlines, including Heritage Aviation and Air Odisha Aviation, have been closed down in the last five years, the government said on Thursday.

Currently, there are 11 scheduled operators and 5 scheduled commuter operators in the country, according to data provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

As per the data, seven airlines have been shut down in the last five years till July 21, 2023. Two airlines -- Heritage Aviation Pvt Ltd and Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd -- were shuttered in 2022.

Three carriers -- Zexus Air Services Pvt Ltd, Deccan Charters Pvt Ltd and Air Odisha Aviation Pvt Ltd -- were shut down in 2020.

In 2019, Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Jet Lite (India) Ltd were closed down, as per the data.

Jet Airways, which was issued an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on February 13, 2022, stopped flying on April 17, 2019, due to a financial crunch.

"After closure, Jet Airways (India) Ltd. had undergone insolvency proceedings at NCLT, Mumbai.

"The AOC has been re-issued on 20.05.2022, however, the airline did not start its operations and AOC expired on 19.05.2023," as per the reply.

In another written reply, the minister said that A320 neo aircraft fitted with PW1100G-JM engines made by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) are operated by IndiGo and Go First Airlines.

"Many of these aircraft are grounded due to supply chain issues of PW1100G-JM engines. As intimated by DGCA, the situation is due to lack of hardware to get the engines repaired and overhauled and is a global issue impacting all customers of P&W," he added.

DGCA is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).