Air Carnival’s flying permit suspended

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the flying licence of Coimbatore-based Air Carnival, the third regional airline to face such an action in the last eight months.

Air Carnival, which has not operated a single flight since early April, follows Air Pegasus and Air Costa, whose air operator permits have also been suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“The DGCA has suspended Air Operator Permit (AOP) of Air Carnival after it failed to satisfy the regulator in its response to the show-cause notice,” a DGCA official said. The order for suspension of the flying licence of Air Carnival was issued earlier this month, the official said.

Air Carnival Chairman and Managing Director S Irudaya Nathan was not available for comments. The suspension of flying permits of these regional carriers has come at a time when the government is moving ahead with the ambitious regional air connectivity scheme that aims to connect unserved as well as under-served airports and make flying more affordable.

According to section 15(2)(b) of Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules 1937, DGCA may cancel or suspend permit of an airline for such period as it thinks fit, if it is satisfied that the holder of the permit has failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable service. However, before cancelling or suspending the flying permit of an operator, the regulator issues a show-cause notice with a twoweek time to respond.

Promoted by the CMC Group (Coimbatore Marine College), Air Carnival had started operations last July with with one ATR-72 aircraft.

Before grounding operations, the regional carrier was operating 10 daily flights to three cities -Chennai, Trichy and Tuticorin -from Coimbatore. Its lone aircraft has also been deregistered and taken away by the lessor, the official said. The promoters had earlier inked a deal for a 100% stake dilution to an angel investor for about ₹70 crore, but the transaction is yet to be completed, sources said.