AirAsia’s India entry wins investment panel approval

New Delhi: Asia’s largest low-cost carrier AirAsia has won approval from India’s foreign investment panel on Wednesday to set up an airline in a joint venture with the giant Tata group, a government official said.

AirAsia, one of the pioneers of low-cost air travel in Asia, already connects Southeast Asia with some Indian cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Kolkata through its operations in Thailand and Malaysia.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has “approved Air Asia’s proposal to enter the civil aviation sector”, an Indian finance ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The venture now has to obtain a flying licence from India’s aviation regulator, among other steps, and is aiming to start operations in May-June, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

AirAsia’s entry would mark the first by a foreign carrier in the Indian aviation sector since the government last September relaxed rules to let overseas airlines take up to 49 percent stakes in domestic carriers.