Government gives green signal to 3 new airlines – Shankha Air, Al Hind Air and Flyexpress get NOC

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 25, 2025

New Delhi, 24 December. Taking a lesson from the recent upheaval in India’s aviation sector caused by IndiGo, the Central Government has given approval to three new airlines to start flights in an attempt to give more options to air passengers and reduce dependence on IndiGo. In this sequence, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has also issued No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the three airlines – Shankha Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress for preparations to start flights.

If we look at the rapidly expanding aviation sector in the country, these three companies have been approved at a time when the aviation market in India has become highly dependent on a few companies. At present this sector is under the control of some big airlines, among which IndiGo and Air India groups are prominent.

These airlines together control more than 90 per cent of the country’s domestic air travel, with IndiGo alone having about 65 per cent market share. Due to this monopoly, recent technical and operational disruptions at IndiGo affected passengers, making the need for alternative airlines in the sector more strongly felt.

The new airlines, Al Hind Air, FlyExpress and Shankha Air, promoted by Kerala-based Alhind Group, will boost competition in the Indian domestic aviation market. However, many regulatory and operational processes still remain to be completed.

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 is… pic.twitter.com/oLWXqBfSFU
— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) December 23, 2025

Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu informed about this approval through X and said that it is the government’s strategy to encourage more airlines to meet India’s growing air travel demand. Along with this, regional air services have been increased under the UDAN scheme, due to which even small cities are being connected to the national air network. This new initiative is expected to increase the number of choices in domestic travel and provide better services to passengers, thereby further strengthening the Indian aviation sector.