Shortage of Parking Space Plagues Air Deccan

The scheduled commuter airline, Air Deccan, which is now owned by Ahmedabad-based firms GSEC Aviation and Monarch Networth Capital, had launched its services in Maharashtra last year. Owing to non-availability of parking space at Mumbai airport, Air Deccan has been compelled to park its aircraft at Nashik airport, owned and operated by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Air Deccan has now threatened to move its base from Maharashtra to Gujarat. “Flights under the Udan Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) are increasingly becoming unviable for us in Maharashtra as we are not getting the right slots besides aircraft parking space,” said Shaishav Shah, Managing Director of the airline. “This may force us to move our base to Ahmedabad, where availability of parking space is not an issue,” Shah said. Air Deccan had bagged 34 routes, including those in Maharashtra, in the first phase of bidding for the Udan RCS in March 2016. Besides, the owners of Air Deccan also own 60 per cent stake in another scheduled commuter airline, Air Odisha. Alleging harassment by airport authorities at Nashik, Shah said that the airport operator was not providing the parking space and raising “illegal” bills against the carrier for availing certain services.