Shankh Air plans Q1 2026 take-off after receiving civil aviation ministry NOC

Shankh Air, which has received a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the civil aviation ministry, plans to commence flight operations in the first quarter of 2026, the company said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Shankh Aviation said its aircraft are currently undergoing technical reviews and are being readied for delivery to India.

Uttar Pradesh-based Shankh Aviation will operate the airline under the brand name Shankh Air. Shankh Aviation Chairman and Managing Director Sharvan Kumar Vishwakarma recently met Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and briefed him on the airline’s operational and expansion plans.

According to Vishwakarma, the airline plans to gradually scale up its fleet to 20–25 aircraft over the next two to three years.

Shankh Air has said on its website that it plans to operate as a full-service airline based out of Noida International Airport.

Currently, there are nine scheduled domestic airlines operating in the country.

On Tuesday, Naidu said he met teams from three aspiring airlines over the past week.

“While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from the ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs this week,” the minister said in a post on X.

Al Hind Air, backed by the Alhind Group, plans to launch as a regional commuter airline with a fleet of ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft, focusing initially on domestic routes in southern India, according to company information.

The approvals come at a time when India’s aviation sector is facing renewed scrutiny over market concentration. IndiGo, which carries about 65% of domestic passengers, cancelled thousands of flights in early December, leading to airport disruptions and a sharp spike in fares.

India’s airline industry has seen repeated consolidation over the past decade following the collapse of carriers such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and GoFirst, and the restructuring of Tata Group’s aviation businesses.

The Tata-led consolidation resulted in the merger of AirAsia India into Air India Express and Vistara into Air India, leaving IndiGo and the Air India group together controlling over 90% of the domestic market.