Eleven airlines have exited India’s aviation market in the last decade, the government told Parliament on Monday, pointing to financial stress, aircraft shortages and internal issues as key reasons.
Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that the sector is deregulated and airlines run on commercial considerations, while the government remains focused on maintaining balance in the industry.
"Since 2016, a total of 11 airlines have exited the market due to reasons such as financial stress, non-availability of aircraft and other internal issues. Further, AirAsia (India) Pvt. Ltd. (now AIX Connect Pvt. Ltd.) has merged with Air India Express Ltd., and Tata SIA Airlines Ltd. (Vistara) has merged into Air India Ltd," he said.
The reply did not include details of the airlines that shut operations. The statement also flagged consolidation in the sector. AirAsia India, now AIX Connect, has been merged with Air India Express, while Vistara has been absorbed into Air India.
On dues linked to defunct carriers, Mohol said, "Kingfisher Airlines had Rs 380.51 crore dues towards the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the claim has been lodged before the official Liquidator at Bengaluru."
Kingfisher Airlines had stopped operations in 2012. He added, "The dues of TruJet towards AAI is Rs 0.03 crore while there are no dues of Jet Airways and Go First."
