Vijayawada-based private regional airlines Air Costa, has received license from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to operate services across India.
This upgradation to the national license comes three years after the airline launched operations in limited sectors using regional license.
The airline currently covers 8 destinations including, Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Tirupathi and Vizag.
With national license, the company looks to add more destinations including the trunk sectors such as Delhi, Mumbai and other sectors with growing air travel population, such as Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Indore among others, Air Costa said.
Vivek Choudhary, chief executive officer, Air Costa, said: "Receiving a Pan-India permit is another milestone for all of us at Air Costa. This validates the hard work and efforts put in by each one of our 800 strong team members over the past years. I also personally would like to extend my gratitude to the DGCA, our partners Embraer and GECAS, and our esteemed trade partners who have supported us."
The company plans to connect Delhi and Mumbai to smaller towns and cities across India. "Our immediate focus now moves to adding aircraft and expanding operations," Choudhary said.