After Jet Airways, Air Deccan will be the second private airline from India to fly abroad. The Government has given Air Deccan an in-principle approval to start its international operations from August this year.Meanwhile, in case the merger process between Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines formally goes through, the rights to fly abroad would immediately be eligible for transfer to Kingfisher.
Official sources told Business Line that with the approval letter, Air Deccan would now be able to approach various airports abroad and seek slots for starting flights from India.
The airline becomes eligible to start international services on August 26 when it completes five years of domestic operations.
At the moment, Jet Airways and its low-cost wing, JetLite (which was earlier called Air Sahara), are the private sector airlines that are permitted to operate flights abroad.
Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line