The Cochin International Airport had been officially established as the operational hub by Air Kerala, the first airline in Kerala. Harish Moideen Kutty, the airline’s chief operating officer, stated here on Wednesday that the low-key carrier anticipates starting operations with its inaugural flight from Kochi by early June. After Minister of Industries P. Rajeev announced Kochi as Air Kerala’s operational base, Mr. Moindeen Kutty told reporters that the airline would first connect to Tier II and III cities in South and Central India before expanding into the international market by 2027, when it hopes to reach the goal of 20 aircraft.
The airline currently operates two aircraft. According to Mr. Moideen Kutty, the aviation company has now dry leased the aircraft and plans to look into purchasing its own aircraft in the future.
The concept of an airline that primarily serves Malayalis living abroad has been around for a while. It was first intended to be a government-private partnership project, following the format of India’s first PPP project, Cochin International Airport. However, the airline business model changed during the last ten years, which led Keralites to start the current enterprise with affordability at the core of its business strategy.
With more than one crore passengers handled in 2023–2024, Cochin International Airport Limited achieved a significant milestone. Compared to the prior year, the figures indicate an 18% increase. In 2023–2024, CIAL handled 63.50% of Kerala’s total aviation passenger traffic. There were 55.99 lakh people traveling domestically and 49.31 lakh traveling abroad.
India’s domestic passenger traffic growth has been 16% year on year and Air Kerala expects to tap into this untapped area of business. The Cochin International Airport and Government of Kerala have promised all support to the new airline operations.
India’s domestic passenger traffic has increased by 16% annually, and Air Kerala hopes to capitalize on this unexplored market. The Keralan government and Cochin International Airport have pledged their full support for the new airline’s operations.