DGCA gives Air India and IndiGo preliminary approval to import aircraft

1 Aug 2023 , 12:25 PM

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given in-principle approval to Air India and IndiGo to import aircraft, said General VK Singh (Retd), Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question on Monday.

According to a Civil Aviation Ministry press statement, Air India and IndiGo parent Interglobe Aviation have received in-principle approval for the import of 470 and 500 aircraft, respectively.

‘The cost of acquiring these aircraft, which is a commercial transaction between the airline and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), is not available with it,’ according to the statement.

According to the ministry’s statement, ‘availability of parking slots is ensured at the time of grant of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for actual import of aircraft.’ The aircraft are proposed to be imported between 2023 and 2035, according to the carriers’ induction plan,’ it stated.

Tata Group-owned Air India announced an agreement last month to acquire 470 aircraft in what might be a $70 billion (list price) deal as part of a massive fleet renewal and expansion initiative. The airline plans to import 210 A320 Neo planes, 140 B737 planes, 40 A350 planes, 10 B777-9 planes, 20 B787-9 planes, and 50 B737-8 planes.

Meanwhile, IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has made an order for 500 Airbus A320 family planes, the largest single aircraft purchase order ever placed by any airline with Airbus. This is more than the 470 aircraft ordered by Tata-owned Air India in March.

IndiGo is slated to acquire these new planes between 2030 and 2035, with a total order value of almost $50 billion. The order consists of A320 Neo, A321 Neo, and A321 XLR aircraft variants.

According to DGCA figures for May, these two corporations’ airlines secured 87.7% of the market, with IndiGo leading at 61.4%, followed by Air India (9.4%), Vistara (9%), and Air Asia (7.9%).

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