India will soon have three new regional airlines in 2026

India’s aviation scene is quietly gearing up for a shake-up – and it could make planning your 2026 travels a whole lot smoother.

Three new airlines – Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress – have just received No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation. In simple terms, an NOC is the government’s green light for an airline to enter the market, allowing it to move ahead with essentials like securing aircraft, hiring crew and applying for its Air Operator Certificate before selling tickets.

Right now, India’s domestic skies are heavily dominated by IndiGo and the Air India Group, which together control more than 90 per cent of the market. These new entrants won’t change that overnight, but they’re expected to add capacity gradually – especially on underserved routes – while tapping into schemes like UDAN, which aims to improve regional connectivity.

Here’s what we know so far: Shankh Air, based in Uttar Pradesh, plans to operate out of the upcoming Noida International Airport, with initial routes linking cities like Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur to major hubs including Delhi and Mumbai. Al Hind Air, backed by a Kerala-based travel group, will start as a regional commuter airline with a small fleet of ATR aircraft. It will then launch direct international routes to Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi in late 2026. FlyExpress, meanwhile, is expected to focus on tier-2 and tier-3 cities, drawing on its promoters’ logistics and cargo experience.

For now, all three are starting with domestic flights. But for travellers plotting India trips in 2026 – and Singaporeans who use Indian hubs to explore the subcontinent – this could eventually mean better connections, more choice, and, fingers crossed, cheaper fares.

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