New Delhi: Qatar Airways plans to set up an airline in India along with the Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund, its chief executive Akbar Al Baker said today.
India may soon get its first fully-foreign owned airline after the Modi government allowed 100% FDI in the sector last June.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said in Berlin on Wednesday that he plans to start an airline in India with the investment arm of Qatar government.
This will be the first of its kind airline venture in India that would be fully-owned by overseas entities and the proposal comes nearly nine months after the Indian government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the airlines segment.
“We are joining hands with the investment arm of State of Qatar to start a domestic airline in India with a 100 per cent investment”.
“We are doing this because Indian government has opened up the foreign direct investment in (setting up) an airline in India”, said Al Baker.
Last June, India allowed foreign investors barring overseas airlines to own up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers by liberalising FDI regulations.
While the FDI norms have been relaxed, the government is yet to amend the regulations with respect to Air Operator Permit (AOP).
At present, AOP is granted only to an airline where substantial ownership is with Indian entities.
On several occasions earlier, Qatar Airways — which operates a significant number of flights from India to Qatar’s capital city Doha — had explored the possibility of buying stake in Indian budget carrier IndiGo.