Calcutta: Air Deccan, the airline that pioneered low-cost flying in India, has missed its take-off date from Calcutta to Jamshedpur and postponed flights to five other destinations by citing a technical restriction, incomplete airports and an unattractive time slot.

Air connectivity to Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Cooch Behar and a cheaper flight to Bagdogra were the highlights of the announcement by Air Deccan that it would fly to 11 destinations from Calcutta under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).

The scheme caps fares at Rs 1,400-1,800 for most routes. The first Jamshedpur flight was to take off on March 4.

"The airline wrote to us on March 1 that it wouldn't be able to start operating from the scheduled date and would let us know about the new launch date later," a senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Tuesday.

The AAI had sent a team of air traffic control personnel to Jamshedpur in preparation for the launch. They were withdrawn after the communication from Air Deccan.

Captain G.R. Gopinath, the chairman of Air Deccan, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had clamped "restrictions" based on the length of the runway in Jamshedpur. The airports in Rourkela and Burnpur are not yet ready, he told Metro.

At Bagdogra, Air Deccan hasn't found a time slot that would be attractive to passengers. "If we can't operate in almost half the network we have got (clearance for), this won't be viable. We are now concentrating on the second network for which we had bid, which is to connect Calcutta to the Northeast," Gopinath said.

The AAI official said there were no technical issues in Jamshedpur. "It is a licensed airport and there shouldn't be any problem. We are not commenting on Rourkela and Burnpur."

Sources said Tata Steel, which runs the airport in Jamshedpur, had written to Air Deccan mentioning runway restrictions because of buildings coming up in the vicinity.

"Given these restrictions, we will not be able to carry viable passenger load. We have requested an exemption from the authorities," Gopinath said.

He said the delay had nothing to do with the investment in Air Deccan and Air Odisha by Ahmedabad-based GSEC Aviation and Monarch Networth Capital. "We have entered into a strategic partnership," he said.

Air Deccan had won flying rights to Jamshedpur, Cooch Behar, Andal in Durgapur, Burnpur, Bagdogra and Rourkela, besides Shillong, Dimapur, Aizawl, Agartala, Silchar and Imphal. "I expect to start operating in the Northeast sector by (the end of) this month," Gopinath said.

The airline has procured two Beechcraft 1900D aircraft that will be parked in Calcutta. These are 19-seater planes.

Half of the 18 paid seats - one will be for the flight attendant - are meant to be priced lower under the scheme. Air Deccan will sell the remaining nine seats on each flight for Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 each.

An UDAN subsidy is given to the participating airline as "viability gap funding".