From court cases to cash crunches: The risky flight plans of India’s startup airlines

“Over the last one week, pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies," Naidu wrote. “While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from ministry, AlHind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs in this week," he added. The post was accompanied by three photographs showing five individuals associated with the three airlines.

NOC is short for no-objection certificate, the first step and a preliminary clearance before an airline obtains an air operator certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulator.

In reality, Shankh Air had received the nod in September 2024, followed by AlHind Air sometime before March last year, according to a response by the minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, in the Lok Sabha. Only FlyExpress received an NOC in December.

The minister’s update came amid growing concerns of a market duopoly—IndiGo and Air India have a combined share of 90% in the Indian skies. In the first week of December, IndiGo, which prides itself on on-time performance, cancelled more than 4,500 flights, bringing the country’s booming aviation sector to a halt.

So, what do we know about the three new aviation companies? Do they have the financial muscle to challenge the duopoly, going ahead? And who are the people running them?

Mint’s review shows that while one airline in the minister’s post is backed by a large travel group, a second one is led by a promoter whose fortunes shot up in quick time. The third entity is not a company—just a brand.

Under aviation rules, promoters and key executives are required to obtain security and background clearances from multiple agencies. But Mint’s investigations have revealed antecedents that are not very encouraging.

Take FlyExpress, for instance.

In the post mentioned earlier, two executives from the company were pictured with minister Naidu. One of them is Rajesh Ebrahimkutty, the founder of FlyExpress’ parent company. The identity of the second executive could not be ascertained. Identification is important because at least two directors of FlyExpress’s parent company were convicted by a court in Delhi last year.

Repeated attempts to obtain details about the executive from the ministry of civil aviation and FlyExpress did not yield any result. A detailed questionnaire sent to the ministry also went unanswered.

FlyExpress: Many slips

We would also like to inform you that the company plans to hold a comprehensive press meeting in March, following the signing of the aircraft," Somashekhar, who described himself as FlyExpress’s public representative, told Mint in a WhatsApp response on 6 January. He declined to identify the airline’s owners.

A letterhead from FlyExpress, which this paper received from a government official, provided the first clue about the company. The address: First floor of The Presidency, a three-storey commercial building on St Mark’s Road in central Bengaluru.

Upon visiting the office, the name of the company that runs FlyExpress surfaces, embossed at the entrance: ABC Aviation and Training Services Ltd.

An executive at the office confirmed that FlyExpress is the brand under which the airline is proposed to be launched, but declined to disclose ownership details of ABC Aviation and Training Services.

The company was incorporated in July 2010 by Rajesh Ebrahimkutty and Anees Hassan Ali in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, according to documents filed with the ministry of corporate affairs. Ebrahimkutty was the managing director and the largest shareholder. The company’s articles of association allowed it to operate in aviation, hospitality, restaurants and even import-export. A review of ABC Aviation and Training Services’ 15-year history points to a firm with no revenue, unexplained losses, an absence of regular financial records, and legal cases.

Surprise, this is not the first time ABC Aviation and Training Services applied for an NOC to start an airline. Sometime in the early part of the last decade, the company applied and received an NOC—it had planned to start an airline called FLYeasy—one that never took off.

In 2013, the company began advertising pilot training programmes under the FLYeasy brand. It promised selected candidates roles as trainee first officers, according to six legal complaints across Karnataka, Kerala and New Delhi, reviewed by Mint.

According to these complaints, the modus operandi was to collect money from aspirants, offer basic English or typing classes, and then shut operations.

₹2.88 crore was due to “trainee first officer claims," according to notes from the auditor, part of ABC Aviation and Training Services’ last full-year financials filed with the ministry of corporate affairs—for the year ended 31 March 2018.

On 15 July 2024, the company appointed an auditor, Kerala-based JAKS & Associates, to audit the financial statements for the last decade, i.e., from 2014 to 2024.

The company has zero revenue between 2010 and 2018. Accumulated losses during this period: a little over ₹39 crore. Even though the company had no business, in January 2017, FLYeasy announced it had agreed to acquire a 74% stake in Air Pegasus for ₹86 crore, the media had reported back then.

Shyson Thomas, an entrepreneur from Kerala, founded Air Pegasus. The airline primarily operated in South Indian cities, between April 2015 and July 2016. The company’s flying permit was suspended by the DGCA in November 2016 because of accumulated losses.

The deal with ABC Aviation and Training also did not materialize, Shyson Thomas told Mint without giving a reason. “The company (Air Pegasus) has been dissolved," he said.

There are more issues.

In September 2017, one of ABC Aviation and Training Services’ directors, the company’s second-largest shareholder, resigned, citing serious compliance and corporate governance issues.

“Ever since my involvement with the company, not a single meeting of either the shareholders or the board of directors has been called by the managing director," Sanaulla Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, who took over as a director in January 2014, wrote in his resignation letter dated 5 September 2017.

“I have not received any notice or any such meeting/s. The company has not filed its annual returns since its incorporation. These dealings are not restricted to any one aspect of the company. There are grave concerns about the hiring policies of the company. Senior employees were hired without any board decisions/resolutions being taken/passed and they were paid exorbitant salaries despite a lack of credential or even of reporting to work and in spite of the advice of directors to remove them," wrote Khan, who, since first investing ₹2,50,000 in December 2013, had become the second-largest shareholder owning 26.38% by March 2017.

Surprisingly, he was reinstated as a director in an extraordinary general meeting of ABC Aviation and Training on 15 July 2024.

Khan did not respond to text messages and calls from Mint.

Court records reveal further trouble. On 18 July last year, a Delhi court convicted ABC Aviation, Ebrahimkutty and Khan in a cheque-bounce case involving ₹35 lakh. A few more cases in Karnataka and Kerala, involving trainees demanding their money back from the company, remain pending against both the directors.

Himanshu Sharma, a Delhi-based lawyer who represented Ebrahimkutty, declined to share the quantum of punishment or provide an update on the case. A detailed questionnaire sent to ABC Aviation and Training and Ebrahimkutty went unanswered.

“At the outset, we would like to clarify that the ownership and management structure of ABC Aviation and Training Services Ltd has undergone a complete change, and the company is now promoted by a large corporate group. This transition marks a new phase for the organisation, with a renewed governance framework and strategic direction," said FlyExpress’s spokesperson Somashekhar.

He did not mention who this “large corporate group" is. There is no public record of ABC Aviation being sold or bought either.

“At present, the company is fully focused on completing the AOC process and related regulatory milestones. Given this priority, and considering the sensitivity of matters relating to past operations, legacy issues and ongoing regulatory processes, the company is not in a position to offer detailed comments, confirmations or interviews at this stage," the spokesperson added.

Shankh Air: Where’s the money?

Shankh Air presents a different set of concerns.

The airline was incorporated in October 2023 by Sharvan Kumar Vishwakarma, a businessman from Uttar Pradesh.

The company, with authorized capital of ₹50 crore, was incorporated in October 2023, 11 months before it received the NOC from the ministry of civil aviation. Its registered office in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar is also the address of Vishwakarma’s trading firm, Shankh Trading Pvt. Ltd.

Shankh Trading trades in steel, cement and sand; it had revenue of ₹643.7 crore, according to a Crisil report dated 9 December 2025. Profit totalled ₹28.4 crore. This is quite a growth for a company set up only in June 2022—it had 50 employees at the end of 2023-24, according to ministry of corporate affairs filings.

In March last year, Vishwakarma signed an agreement with the upcoming Noida International Airport, stating that Shankh Airlines would make the airport its primary hub. In May, he opened a counter at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow—the space has remained vacant since then, an executive, who did not want to be named, said.

The airline is yet to receive a flying permit from the DGCA, but that has not stopped the promoter from announcing launch dates. In an older interview with Zee Business, on 8 March 2025, Vishwakarma said Shankh Airlines will start flying by May 2025. In December, in an interview with PTI, he said the airline will take wings in the first half of January.

In a 30-minute-long interview with Mint, Vishwakarma, 35, said he was born in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao. He grew up in Kanpur where he watched his father, Rama Shankar, earn a living as a metal worker. The family is from the Vishwakarma community, traditionally artisans and craftspeople, where skill was inherited but opportunity was scarce.

Formal schooling did not last long for Vishwakarma. As a teenager, he was a Class 10 dropout. He started driving a tempo, between Unnao and Kanpur, a 22km stretch, he said.

Around 2013, Vishwakarma persuaded a few friends to join him in trading cement. With a loan of about ₹1 lakh, the venture began tentatively. It worked. The money was reinvested, first into TMT steel bars, then into sand mining.

In 2017, the growing business was formalized as Shankh Trading. The businessman claims the company could post nearly ₹1,000 crore in turnover in 2025-26, split evenly between sand mining and cement-and-steel trading.

Vishwakarma, who took his first flight only in 2017, now plans to launch an airline funded largely by the cash flows from his trading business, with conversations ongoing with external investors, he said.

The plan is ambitious: begin with three Airbus A320 aircraft on wet lease, hire pilots and professionals, secure regulatory approvals, and start operations by March. In two years’ time, the founder wants to have 30 planes in his fleet.

He claims about ₹430 crore has already been committed, with funding tied up through overseas lenders—the details remain undisclosed.

“Regulatory issues apart, airline companies would need at least ₹80 -100 crore for carrying out various operational activities, including securing the aircraft. So the financial background of these proposed entities needs to be very strong for them to have any meaningful operations," captain Shakti Lumba, an aviation expert, said.

Vishwakarma, meanwhile, had approached banks for a different reason. In July last year, he secured a ₹5 crore loan from HDFC Bank to buy a Lamborghini, according to filings made by Shankh Trading.

The man who once drove a tempo now has developed a fascination for fast luxury cars.

“I have a fleet of 12 cars including a Lamborghini," Vishwakarma told Mint. “EMIs are paid regularly to banks. There is no default. I started by driving a tempo. So to me, this is one hobby I have. I remain unapologetic about it."

Alhind Air: On stronger ground

The third airline named in the minister’s post, Alhind Air, appears to be on relatively firmer footing.

Backed by the Alhind Group, the airline is part of a diversified travel conglomerate that operates across ticketing, charter services, hotels, cargo and logistics.

The group’s flagship company, Alhind Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd, incorporated in 1998 by P.V. Valsaraj and T. Mohammed Haris, reported revenue of ₹1,771. 57 crore in 2024-25, and a net profit of ₹12.49 crore, according to the last auditor report filed with the ministry of corporate affairs.

Alhind Air was incorporated in Delhi in September 2024 and has a paid-up capital of ₹10.10 crore as on 18 March 2025, falling short of the DGCA’s prescribed requirement by at least ₹10 crore.

Under civil aviation rules for air transport services, applicants seeking an NOC must demonstrate that full equity is available at the time of application to establish seriousness and financial commitment. Airlines with paid-up equity or reserves of at least ₹100 crore do not require additional infusion for an NOC.

For airlines operating aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 40,000kg or less, the minimum paid-up capital is ₹20 crore for up to five aircraft, with an additional ₹10 crore for every subsequent set of five aircraft. For larger aircraft, the requirement is ₹50 crore, plus ₹20 crore for every additional set of up to five aircraft.

Alhind Air plans to operate as a regional commuter airline with three ATR 72 aircraft, according to its website. Typically, an ATR 72 has an MTOW of around 23,000kg, placing the airline within the lower capital threshold—which it did not meet.

The carrier intends to initially focus on domestic operations, with plans to expand to international routes at a later stage. The initial destinations listed on its website include Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Goa.

Plans, however, have already run into execution challenges.

The airline has been involved in arbitration proceedings in Chennai with Gurugram-based Martin Consulting over advisory fees related to aircraft acquisition since March 2025. Financing discussions with Tata Capital and ICICI Bank stalled after the group declined to provide collateral beyond the aircraft, as per the legal notice served by Martin Consulting and reviewed by Mint.

Martin Consulting declined to comment as the matter is under arbitration.

The proposed airline has also placed some of its employees on unpaid leave, according to a Financial Express report dated 2 January.

“At present, we are focused on securing our air operator certificate and are in the process of completing all required documentation and formalities with the DGCA," said an Alhind spokesperson in response to a detailed questionnaire from Mint.

An NOC is valid for three years, during which the airline must apply for—and secure—an air operator’s certificate or the flying permit.

Tighter norms?

Indian skies are littered with the skeletons of airlines that collapsed.

Before deregulation, India had only two state-run airlines, Air India and Indian Airlines. Since 1991, about 45 private carriers have been approved. Of these, 29 have ceased operations while six have merged with other airlines. Today, there are only 10 airlines, including eight passenger and two cargo operators. Apart from InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd, which runs IndiGo, and Tata-backed Air India, there is Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air, Alliance Air, FLY91 and IndiaOne Air. Blue Dart Aviation and Quikjet Cargo Airlines are the two cargo operators.

Everyone agrees that consumers will gain out of more competition. At the same time, experts are calling for a tightening of regulations when it comes to clearances.

The first change? Capital requirements for an airline promoter.

“It should be at least 18-24 months of working capital," Sanjay Lazar, an aviation expert and chief executive of Avialaz Consultants, a Pune-based consultancy firm, said. “The rules are too low on this," he added.

Such tightening of norms could keep frivolous players out, which, in turn, could also ensure a better success rate for Indian aviation startups.

However, Manoj Chacko, founder and chief executive of FLY91, a regional airline, says there are enough checks before an NOC is granted to a new company. “The system of granting an NOC is quite thorough. Pertinent questions are asked and documentation is checked in detail. Questions and checks are conducted on the availability of paid-up capital, the proposed business plans, the antecedents of the promoters and directors, and so on," he said.

ABC Aviation and Training, Shankh Air and Alhind Air could be subjected to more scrutiny, going ahead.