Air Carnival was an Indian

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

based at

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is an international airport and the primary airport serving the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighborhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of the city. It is the ...

with a hub at

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in Tirusulam in Chengalpattu district, in the Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area around southwest of the c ...

. Air Carnival was promoted by the Coimbatore Marine College (CMC) Group. It was founded in 2013 as a

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

but transitioned to scheduled operations within

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, which were launched in July 2016. The airline ceased operations on 6 April 2017. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended its air operator's permit in June 2017. In November 2017, the Chennai bench of the

National Company Law Tribunal The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies. The tribunal, established under the Companies Act 2013, was constituted on 1 June 2016 by the government of India a ...

(NCLT) ordered the corporate insolvency resolution process against the airline and ordered liquidation of the company in January 2019.

History

The company was founded in 2013 by S.I. Nathan of the CMC group, as Air Carnival Charter Services, a

based in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. The group later shifted the focus of Air Carnival to short-haul routes within

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

was selected as the base for its aircraft in order to offer optimum flight timings to the city's business community. Manish Kumar Singh was

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

; and S. I. Nathan, who is also the director of CMC Group, was the founder and

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

. The airline was positioned as a small-town carrier, with a fleet of two aircraft. The plan was to operate on short-haul routes where it could fly profitably with a focus on unserved and poorly served markets. The airline received its no-objection certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in June 2014 to operate on regional routes in South India. Air Carnival received its first aircraft, an

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

, in April 2016 and its air operator's certificate in July 2016. The airline commenced operations on 18 July 2016 with a flight from Coimbatore to Chennai. The promoters ran into funding issues within nine months of operations. Efforts to acquire two more aircraft did not materialise as promoters failed to raise funds. The promoters attempted to sell their stake in the airline in April 2017. However, by then the airline had ceased operations after the airline's engineers demanding wages went on a two-day strike, resulting in the grounding of its lone aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended Carnival's air operator's certificate in June 2017 after the airline failed to satisfy the regulator in its response to a show-cause notice. In November 2017, the Chennai bench of the NCLT ordered the corporate insolvency resolution process against the airline and, after finding no investors to revive the airline, ordered liquidation of the company in January 2019.

Destinations

Air Carnival was flying to the following destinations in India prior to ceasing operations:

Fleet

Prior to ceasing operations, Air Carnival operated a single

References

External links

* {{Airlines of India Defunct airlines of India Airlines established in 2013 Airlines disestablished in 2017 Companies based in Coimbatore Indian companies disestablished in 2017 Indian companies established in 2013 2013 establishments in Tamil Nadu

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links