New Delhi approves Alliance Air to operate India-Sri Lanka flights

Air India’s regional unit Alliance Air has been granted “special dispensation” by the Indian government to operate between India and Sri Lanka. A notice from the civil aviation ministry states that the exemption would stay in place until the carrier has a minimum of 20 aircraft, or has about 20% share of domestic capacity, whichever is higher. Under Indian civil aviation laws, an airline can only fly international routes once it has at least 20 aircraft. The carrier has 19 aircraft in its fleet currently. While the ministry notice did not indicate which routes Alliance Air would be operating, it names two airports which do not have scheduled operations: Palaly airport, also known as Jaffna International Airport, as well as Batticaloa airport. <br/>