Exclusive: Pradhaan Air Express gets NoC from Aviation Ministry; To start operations by later this year

Pradhaan Air Express has received a No objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to begin its commercial operations in India. The all-cargo airline will be based in New Delhi and will start its operations later this year. The company's founder and CEO Nipun Anand announced the development on July 6, 2022.

The airline will operate with the world’s first A320 converted freighter. The first converted freighter, expected to arrive in Delhi later this month, will offer the charter capacity to Indian shippers and freight forwarders on domestic and international routes.

“Getting the world’s first A320 converted freighter to India is like a dream come true. A second aircraft will be inducted by the year end with plans for further fleet expansion,” Anand added.

The conversion was done by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture of ST Engineering and Airbus, at its facility in Singapore. The aircraft has been leased from Vaayu Group / Astral Aviation. Interestingly, Pradhaan Air Express will be India’s first airline to operate an Airbus narrow-body freighter. The Aircraft offers a payload of 21 tons with a fully palletized main deck.

The launch of Pradhaan Air Express is expected to endorse the Government of India’s vision to achieve 10 million tonnes of annual cargo throughput by 2030 and pushes the Indian air cargo market in the global ranking.

“The air cargo market in India has untapped domestic and international potential fuelled by various initiatives to become a global hub for cargo services. We aim to make our small contribution to the big dreams of the Indian cargo industry by offering tailor-made solutions with on-demand charters,” added Vipul Bhalla, CBO, Pradhaan Air Express.