New airline Air Carnival is expected to take wings in May.

Manish Kumar Singh, Chief Executive, Air Carnival told BusinessLine that the arrival of the first aircraft —ATR 72-500 from Elix Aviation Capital Ltd, Ireland — signalled the company’s seriousness, intent of providing air connectivity to parts of the southern region.

The carrier leased by CMC (Coimbatore Marine College) Group graced Indian skies over Chennai last evening, Singh said, adding “This is the first of a proposed initial fleet of five ATRs. We are in discussion with other companies as well for leasing aircraft.

“We will start operating as soon as we have three in place.”

“The new airline will be based out of Coimbatore and is slated to be re-registered in India as VT-CMA.

“We are now gearing up to obtain Air Operator Permit (AOP) as a scheduled regional airline (south). The aircraft would relocate to Coimbatore on completion of the regulatory requirements for registration, and certification for airworthiness under Indian law.”

While the infrastructure and technical support systems are said to be in place for its commercial operation, the company is expecting to complete training of pilots and cabin crew before getting the permit.

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