No More IndiGo Monopoly? Three New Airlines Set To Take To Skies

Al HInd Air and FlyExpress and Shankh Air are the three new airlines that will challenge the IndiGo and Air India's hegemony in the Indian aviation market.

The IndiGo chaos appears to have had some impact on the Modi government, as the civil aviation ministry is now opening the sector for new airlines. The Civil Aviation Ministry has reportedly issued no objection certificates to two new airlines - Al HInd Air and FlyExpress, taking the count to three, including Shankh Air. With this, all three airlines are ready to start operations in India.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu took to X to share the news of the new NOCs. "Over the last one week, pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies—Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress. While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs in this week. It has been the endeavour of the ministry to encourage more airlines in Indian Aviation which is amongst the fastest growing aviation markets in the world owing to the policies of the government of PM Narendra Modi ji. Schemes like UDAN, has enabled smaller carriers Star Air, India One Air, Fly91 etc. to play an important role in the regional connectivity within the country and there is more scope for further growth," he said.

During the November-December crisis allegedly induced by IndiGo, thousands of passengers were left stuck due to delay and cancellations of the flights by the airline. While critics termed the crisis deliberately manufactured by the IndiGo, the government appears to have learnt a big lesson that over reliability on any company can prove drastic. IndiGo controls around 65% of the domestic market share in the country and allegedly used this to manipulate government policy related to leave and rest for pilots. 

IndiGo and Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- together have over 90 per cent of the domestic market share.

The three new airlines are likely to take to the skies in 2026. 

Al Hind Air is backed by the Kerala-based Alhind Group.

The government is encouraging the entry of additional airline operators as India continues to be one of the fastest-growing domestic civil aviation markets globally.

At present, nine scheduled domestic airlines are operational in the country. Regional carrier Fly Big halted its scheduled services in October.

According to the latest figures from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), scheduled airlines operating in India include Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and the state-run Alliance Air, along with Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air, Fly91 and IndiaOne Air.

In recent years, several carriers such as Go First and Jet Airways have ceased operations due to mounting financial difficulties.