Just 3 years old: India’s youngest airline, Akasa Air, joins the IATA club and joins a group of elite carriers

Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline founded in 2020, has become a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade association representing over 360 airlines accounting for over 80% of global air traffic.

The airline made the announcement on January 9 via a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “Delighted to share; We are now a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association representing more than 360 carriers around the world who account for more than 80% of global air traffic. »

This membership follows Akasa Air’s successful completion of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in December – a mandatory prerequisite that highlights the airline’s adherence to globally recognized safety and operational standards. The airline described the milestone as recognition of its strong safety culture and operational excellence.

“Our admission to IATA, just over three years after commencing operations, follows our remarkable achievement of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a major safety milestone recognizing its global operational standards, which is a mandatory prerequisite for membership. This achievement underlines Akasa Air’s strong safety culture and adherence to internationally benchmarked operational processes,” the airline said.

With this, Akasa Air joins the ranks of four other Indian IATA member carriers: Air India and Air India Express, owned by the Tata group, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

Through its IATA membership, Akasa Air said it aims to actively engage in the global aviation dialogue, contribute to the development of best practices and collaborate on key industry initiatives focused on safety management, digital transformation and sustainable aviation – areas it sees as critical to the future of air transport.

“We look forward to collaborating with Akasa Air and counting on their active participation in shaping the agenda, priorities and initiatives of the airline industry in India, the Asia-Pacific region and globally,” said Sheldon Hee, Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific at IATA. “The potential of Indian aviation is enormous, with the industry supporting 7.7 million jobs and $53.6 billion in economic contribution. »

Akasa Air was founded by Vinay Dube, with late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala investing $35 million for almost 40% stake in the airline.