In a move that’s got more lift than a flock of seagulls on a windy day, Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, inaugurated the sprightly young airline, Fly91, today. With the snip of a ribbon, Scindia flagged off its very first flight, charting a course from the sunny shores of Goa’s Manohar International Airport to the pristine waters around the Agatti Islands in Lakshadweep.
In a rousing inaugural speech, Scindia threw shade at the gloomy days of airline closures and bankruptcy, reminiscing how, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s watchful eye, the past decade has seen the skies brighten with the launch of six regional airlines. “From doom and gloom to zoom and boom,” he quipped, outlining a vision where civil aviation’s growth isn’t just about scaling heights but connecting hearts and cities. With the UDAN scheme as its wings, the ministry aims to boost domestic traffic from a modest 6 crores in 2014 to a sky-high 30 crores by 2030, focusing on bringing tier 2 and tier 3 cities into the fold.
The airline announced that scheduled flights will start taxiing down the runway on March 18, 2024, connecting dots from Goa to cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jalgaon, and more, in a phased rollout that promises to stitch the fabric of the nation closer. This aerial tapestry isn’t just about making the journey quicker but enriching the tapestry of Indian tourism, trade, and tales of travel.
The launch event saw a galaxy of aviation bigwigs, including Fly91’s Chairman Harsha Raghavan and the joint secretary of MoCA, Asangba Chuba Ao, amongst others, all buzzing with the excitement of this new venture. With promises of affordable, on-time, safe, and hassle-free journeys, Fly91 looks set to write a new chapter in Indian aviation, where the sky is not the limit but the beginning.
