Air India will be an equity partner in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility being set up by international aircraft manufacturer Boeing in Nagpur.
Air India will be an equity partner in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility being set up by international aircraft manufacturer Boeing in Nagpur. The search for a third partner in the venture is on.
“We’ve sent a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to Boeing, but the exact nature of holdings will be worked out later,” said V Thulasidas, chairman and managing director of National Aviation Company of India Ltd. at the launch of Air India Express’s maiden Nagpur-Dubai flight on Monday. Boeing had announced setting up of the Rs500-crore MRO facility last year, as part of the Rs45,000-crore 111-aircraft deal with Air India.
Nagpur is now connected to two gulf cities — Doha and Dubai — through Qatar Airways and Air India Express, India’s low-cost international carrier. Described as “Nagpur’s double delight”, the flights were inaugurated on Monday. Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel flagged off the Nagpur-Doha flight.
“After the success of daily flights to Mumbai, Nagpur will become Qatar Airways’ second gateway city in Maharashtra,” CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker said during the launch. The flight will operate twice a week between Doha and Nagpur.
Patel said, “Aviation revolution is being scripted in the hinterland of India, and we’ve been successful in easing the traffic at Delhi and Mumbai.”
Baker, who flew in from Doha on Monday morning, said: “Increasing business interest in Nagpur is what drove us to start our services in the city.” Baker added that Qatar Airways now has 44 flights a week across seven cities in India.
Later, Patel flagged off another flight to Dubai, started by Air India Express. The Mumbai-Nagpur-Dubai flight will operate thrice a week. Frequency may be increased later based on the response.
Thulasidas said the flights will also service traffic from Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Choosing this occasion to settle a score with his cabinet colleague and Nagpur MP Vilas Muttemwar, Patel said: “Nagpur will become a cargo hub, but there has to be a clear direction we need to take.”
“We’ll have to increase traffic; we are taking steps to make the service viable,” he said, in an apparent snub to Muttemwar, who has criticised Patel over the delay in handover of the Nagpur airport for The Multimodal International Hub Airport at Nagpur project.
Patel reiterated that the proposal for transfer of the airport to the Special Purpose Vehicle — a joint venture between Maharashtra Airport Development Company and Air India — has been moved and will be discussed before the cabinet.
“We had suggested to the state government to acquire the land first so that the airport can be handed over to a private player for development.”
Patel said he will pitch for Nagpur among cargo handlers at the World Economic Forum scheduled in New Delhi in October.
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