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NEPC Airlines

NEPC Airlines, also referred to as NEPC India and earlier as NEPC Skyline, was a private scheduled passenger airline based in India. It was part of the Chennai-headquartered NEPC group, a diversified business house with interests in wind energy, paper and other industries. The airline operated during the mid-1990s, a period that saw the entry of several private carriers into Indian aviation following the repeal of the Air Corporations Act, 1953.

Key facts
Type Private scheduled airline (defunct)
Parent NEPC group
Headquarters Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Industry Civil aviation
Status Defunct

Background

The NEPC group, controlled by the Khemka family, expanded into civil aviation during the early 1990s when the Government of India opened scheduled passenger air services to private operators. The group entered the sector by acquiring control of Damania Airways, a private carrier founded in 1992 by the Damania family of Mumbai. Following the takeover, the airline was rebranded under the NEPC banner.

Operations

NEPC Airlines operated domestic services connecting metropolitan cities in India, including routes from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and other regional centres. Its fleet during this period included Boeing 737 and Fokker aircraft inherited from Damania operations.

Decline and closure

Like several other private airlines that emerged in the same period — including East-West Airlines, ModiLuft and Damania — NEPC Airlines faced financial difficulties amid high operating costs, intense competition and the broader troubles of the NEPC group. The airline suspended operations in the latter half of the 1990s and did not resume scheduled services.

Significance

NEPC Airlines is remembered as one of the early private scheduled carriers in post-liberalisation India. Its short trajectory illustrates the volatility of the first wave of private aviation in the country, which preceded the more durable low-cost carrier boom of the 2000s.

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