DGCA gives Air Operators Permit to Turbo Megha Airways

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday awarded flying permit, or Air Operators Permit (AOP), to Turbo Megha Airways, a regional airline that will operate under the ‘Trujet' brand.
The two promoters of the new airline are Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja, who is also an actor, and V Umesh, a businessman. Chiranjeevi was tourism minister in the United Progressive Alliance II government and is currently a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.

"The airline will be based out of Hyderabad and operate flights to Tirupati and Aurangabad with a fleet of 70-seater ATR aircraft," civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters here.

With this permission, the Modi government has awarded flying permits to four new airlines in the country — two scheduled commercial airlines and two regional carriers.

Vistara and AirAsia India are national carriers whereas Air Pegasus and Turbo Megha Airways are South-based regional carriers.

With the entry of Turbo Megha, the air network in the southern part of the country is set to increase substantially. Recently, Air Pegasus also launched regional services with operations based out of Bengaluru.

Turbo Megha obtained a ‘No Objection' certificate from the civil aviation ministry in July last year along with six other carriers — Air One, Premier Air, Zexus Air (all national), Turbo Megha, Air Carnival and Zav Airways (all regional). Among the six carriers, Turbo Megha has fetched its AOP on Tuesday, while Premier Air is still in the middle of its lying permit process.

Premier got the aviation ministry's approval to induct the aircraft in October. It is now awaiting a nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), after which purchase documents will be signed and pre-delivery payments structured.