Dubai businessman aims to revive low-cost Air Kerala project

A businessman in Dubai has vowed to get long-held plans for a low-cost Indian airline off the ground, with a launch date soon to be announced. Afi Ahmed, founder of Dubai travel agency Smart Travels, told The National he was working to revive Air Kerala, a project first announced by the Kerala state government in 2005. He is aiming to raise investment to launch Air Kerala as a domestic airline in the southern Indian state before expanding operations to include the Gulf. Ahmed, originally from Kerala, had previously announced that he had purchased the domain name airkerala.com for Dh1m. “Next month, I will formally announce the launch of Air Kerala,” he said. “The airline is a dream come true for non-resident Indians from Kerala. I really hope I can give wings to Air Kerala. I have approached all government entities for permissions. Even otherwise, I am planning to start this is a private entity with the support of NRI [non-resident Indian] businessmen.” He claims he has already found investors and has handed the project over to consultants for a fiscal report. “I also have a legal team that is looking into other formalities,” he said. “We will raise an initial amount of Rs100 Crores [about Dh275m]. The plan is to launch a domestic carrier in Kerala in the first phase and later expand it as an international airline operating in the Gulf-Kerala sector. “We cannot reveal more details at this stage. We will decide on the type of carrier and number of flights depending on approvals.”<br/>