Over three years after shutting operations, regional airline TruJet (erstwhile known as Turbo Megha Airways) has sought the centre’s nod to restart its operations, industry sources said.
Accordingly, TruJet, was a regional low-cost airline, operated from 2015 to 2022, it was based out of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
It ceased operations in February 2022 due to the financial crisis unleashed by the Covid pandemic.
The airline had initially received approval to operate ‘Scheduled Air Transport (Regional) Services’ from the union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in 2014.
According to sources, the airline has applied for the renewal of the NoC (No Objection Certificate) from MoCA and has made representations to the ministry officials about its plans.
“The ministry’s NoC is expected to be granted soon, after which the airline would be required to renew its AoP (Air Operators Permit) from the DGCA,” sources said.
“The AoP renewal is expected to take up to 180 days.”
Besides, to begin operations, TruJet would require security clearance of its key personnel, including the board of directors.
However, sources said that the airline has proposed to restart operations with a few ATR turboprop aircraft from Hyderabad by August-September 2025.
Furthermore, the airline plans to participate in the centre’s regional connectivity UDAN scheme.
Domestic network
Apart from ATRs, TruJet plans to induct narrow-body aircraft to enlarge its domestic network.
“Though the plan is in initial stages, the airline plans to purchase some second hand Airbus A320 aircraft from markets in Africa and other places,” sources said.
“These narrow-body aircraft will be based out of Vishakhapatnam airport.”
The plan to introduce narrow-body aircraft is expected to be put into action by the end of this year or early 2026.
Additionally, sources said that the airline representatives have claimed to have “solid” financial backing from a set of new investors.
“For the ATR operations with five aircraft, the airline plans to initially invest about ₹100 crore and hire some 600 people,” sources said, adding that the industry has lately attracted players due to its high growth rate; however, heavy taxation still hinders many from entering the industry.
Recent data has shown that India’s domestic passenger traffic grew by 11 per cent on a year-on-year basis in February 2025.
As per the DGCA data, the country’s scheduled domestic flight operators ferried around 1.40 crore passengers in February, up from 1.26 crore a year ago.
Trujet is a subsidiary of Turbo Aviation, an aircraft maintenance and ground-handling services company based in Hyderabad.
Before shutting operations, the airline had identified 18 tier II cities in southern India as prospective destinations in its regional network.
