Union Minister Scindia Flags Off Akasa Air's Maiden Flight From Mumbai To Ahmedabad

Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) VK Singh on Sunday (7 August) inaugurated the first flight of Akasa Air from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Founder Akasa Air, Rekha Jhunjhunwala and Vinay Dube, CEO and founder, Akasa Air were also present in the event.

"The inaugural flight today is a new dawn in the history of Civil Aviation in India. Earlier it was an industry which was considered very elitist, but now because of the Prime Minister's vision we are seeing a transformation over the last eight years in terms of accessibility, availability, affordability and inclusion in Civil Aviation which we have never seen before," Jyotiraditya M Scindia said.

"Over the last eight years India's Civil Aviation industry has been completely transformed. Under the UDAN scheme, we have 425 routes aiming to go up to 1,000 routes, 68 new airports aiming to touch 100 airports. In the next 4 years we are expecting 40 crore travellers through Civil Aviation in India. That day is not far when along with rail transport and road transport Civil Aviation will become the bulwark of the transportation in India," he added.

Akasa Air is the 7th schedule airline with the brand name SNV Aviation having Corporate Headquarters in Mumbai with Boeing Max - 8 aircraft.

Akasa Air plans to be a low-cost carrier with a single fleet and all economy seats.

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed airline startup, Akasa Air, has placed a firm order of 72 Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes, powered by CFM fuel efficient, LEAP-1B engines.

According to the company, the 737 MAX family aircraft deliver superior efficiency in reducing fuel use and carbon emissions, fulfilling the airline's promise of being an environmentally friendly company with the youngest and greenest fleet in the Indian skies.