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Alliance Air (India)

Overview

Alliance Air is an Indian regional airline headquartered in New Delhi. It operates scheduled passenger services connecting metropolitan hubs with smaller cities and remote towns across India, with a particular focus on regional and short-haul routes. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of AI Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle of the Government of India.

Key facts

Type Regional airline
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Country India
Parent AI Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL)
Ownership Government of India
Operations Domestic regional services

Background

Alliance Air was established as a regional feeder carrier under the Air India group, intended to complement the network of the national carrier by serving routes that were unsuitable for larger narrow-body operations. Over the years it has been positioned as the principal regional arm of the state-owned aviation enterprise, flying turboprop equipment to airports with shorter runways and lower traffic volumes.

The airline has played a significant role in implementing the Government of India's regional connectivity scheme, Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), under which it operates flights to several smaller airports that previously had limited or no scheduled commercial service. These routes connect state capitals and major cities with district-level destinations across regions including the North East, the Himalayan belt, central India and the southern states.

Corporate history

Following the privatisation of Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express in 2022, when the Tata Group acquired the parent carrier, Alliance Air was retained by the Government of India and transferred to AI Assets Holding Limited. AIAHL was created to hold residual assets, certain liabilities and non-core subsidiaries of the erstwhile Air India group that were not part of the divestment to Tata. As a result, Alliance Air continues to operate as a state-owned entity, separate from the privatised Air India.

Fleet and operations

Alliance Air operates a turboprop fleet suited to regional sectors, predominantly comprising ATR aircraft. Its network spans destinations across northern, western, southern, eastern and north-eastern India, with hubs and focus cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Hubli, among others. The airline's smaller aircraft allow it to serve airports with limited infrastructure, including those upgraded under the regional connectivity programme.

Significance

As a dedicated regional operator, Alliance Air contributes to air connectivity for tier-2 and tier-3 cities and to remote regions where market conditions make full-service or low-cost narrow-body operations commercially difficult. Its role under UDAN has been central to extending scheduled air services to underserved airports, supporting both passenger mobility and regional economic activity.

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