Plans for Air Costa (Vijayawada) to restart operations have hit another hurdle, with India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspending its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) following three months of inactivity. If the airline does not commence flights within the next two months, it risks the complete cancellation of its AOC, reports the Deccan Chronicle.
The airline, which launched in 2012, expanded to pan-Indian operations in October 2016. However, it suspended all flights in February 2017, due to unresolved "financial issues" with its lessor GECAS, from which it leased three E190s.
A relaunch date of March 15 proved fruitless, and the three GECAS EMB-190s have all now been re-registered. Prior to its suspension, Air Costa served Ahmedabad, Bengaluru International, Chennai, Hyderabad International, Tirupati, Jaipur, Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam.
Air Costa CEO Vivek Chowdary has told the Deccan Chronicle that the airline had been affected by a lack of service hangars for its aircraft in India, forcing it to go to Jordan. Chowdary added that the airline is still working to resolve its financial issues and hopes to secure private equity.
Also suspended this week was the license of Air Carnival (Coimbatore), which has not operated flights since mid-April amid talks of a sell-off.
