South India can soon look forward to a new airline offering flights only within the region.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given ‘in-principle approval' to a Mumbai-based company, Freedom Aviation Private Ltd, to import six aircraft to start scheduled regional airline operations in the South.

The airline, which hopes to take wing by next year, plans to link most major tier-II cities in the southern region. Official sources confirmed to Business Line that the licence to start a regional airline has been cleared by the Government.

The airline can import three ATR-72 and three Bombardier aircraft. Both seat 68-80 passengers.
The Bombardier can fly more than 2,500 km with about 70 passengers. The ATR 72 can carry between 68 and 80 passengers. “It is still too early to discuss all the details of the airline,” Captain Vijay Kumar Madan, listed as Accountable Manager on the Web site of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, said, over phone from Mumbai.

In 2007, the UPA -I Government had introduced the concept of regional airlines to promote regional connectivity. A regional airline is allowed to operate flights from any airport in the four designated regions, to any airport in the country. Most of them would, however, be prohibited from operating flights to a metro airport outside their region. The exception to the rule is in South India, where a regional airline would be allowed to operate among the three existing metro cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Yet to take off,At present, there are no regional airlines operating in the country. Several entrepreneurs announced plans to launch regional airlines, but only one airline — MDLR — started operations in North India. The airline, however, stopped operations some time ago.