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Zooom Air

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Not to be confused with Zoom Airlines.

Zooom Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZO[1] ZOM ZOOM
FoundedApril 2013; 11 years ago (2013-04) (as Zexus Air)[2]
Commenced operations15 February 2017; 7 years ago (2017-02-15)[3]
Operating basesIndira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)
Fleet size5
Destinations1[4]
Parent companyZexus Air Services
HeadquartersGurugram, Haryana, India
Key peopleAtul Gambhir, CEO
Employees125[5]
Websitewww.zooom.aero

Zexus Air Services, doing business as Zooom Air, is an Indian low-cost regional airline headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India. It operates from its base at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with a fleet of 5 aircraft.[6][7]

History

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Zooom Air was established in April 2013 as "Zexus Air" by Zexus Air Services Pvt. Ltd. The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued it a No Objection Certificate (NOC) along with five other airline startups in July 2014.[8] In September 2016, the airline took delivery of its first aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ200.[9] The airline received its air operator's certificate (AOC) on 3 February 2017, and began flight operations on 15 February from Delhi to Kolkata, with a stop at Durgapur.[10]

Operational difficulties and cessation of operations

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Although the airline initially started its operations with a considerable response under the government's UDAN Scheme, it could not last longer due to declining passengers and patronage. So, in July 2018, the operating license of the airline was suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) due to safety concerns.[11] The DGCA then revived the airline's AOC in December 2018, and it was expected that the airline will restart operations in January 2019.[12] All operations were suspended until 31 October 2019, when the airline restarted operations.[13] However, all operations were grounded indefinitely in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline was supposed to resume operations again in January 2021, with no success. It began to be involved with insolvency over unpaid dues due to grounding, because an expatriate pilot associated with the company filed an application in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) court as an operational creditor. The NCLT considered the report on 25 March 2022, along with appointing an interim resolution professional, All operational and financial creditors were asked to submit their claims before 8 April of the same year. The insolvency proceedings were completed after 180 days from the date of commencement of the proceedings, i.e., on 21 September 2022.[14]

Restart

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On 14 September 2023, the DGCA received its AOC again to restart operations normally.[15] Hence, in December 2023, the airline announced it would start flights from the first week of January 2024 in the Delhi–Ayodhya–Lucknow–Ayodhya–Delhi route.[16] Finally, it restarted operations on 31 January 2024, by starting direct flights from Delhi to Ayodhya, while flights to Amritsar, Chandigarh and Lucknow will be launched in the coming months.[7][5][17][18] The airline again stopped bookings for its Delhi-Ayodhya route in June 2024.

Corporate affairs

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Zooom Air is the brand name for Zexus Air Services. The company is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, and its CEO is Atul Gambhir.[19][20][15] The airline had been funded with ₹ 20 crore equity.[3] As of February 2024, the airline has 125 employees, with 75 more to be recruited by March 2024, thus taking the overall number to 200.[5]

Destinations

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As of February 2024, Zooom Air operates to the following destinations:[4]

State City Airport Notes Ref
Assam Tezpur Tezpur Airport Terminated [12]
Jorhat Jorhat Airport Terminated
Delhi New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport Hub [21]
Punjab Amritsar Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport Terminated [3]
Chandigarh Chandigarh Airport Terminated [22]
Rajasthan Jaisalmer Jaisalmer Airport Terminated
Uttar Pradesh Agra Agra Airport Terminated [13]
Ayodhya Ayodhya Airport Terminated [21]
Lucknow Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Terminated [22]
West Bengal Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport Terminated [3]
Durgapur Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport Terminated [3]

Fleet

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Current fleet

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As of February 2024, Zooom Air consisted of the following aircraft:[16]

Zooom Air Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Bombardier CRJ200ER 5 0 50
Total 5 0

Fleet development

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After the airline restarted regular operations on 31 January 2024, the CEO of the airline, Atul Gambhir, announced that the airline's existing fleet of five Bombardier CRJ200ER aircraft will fully become operational, and that the company is considering to place an order for new narrowbody as well as freighter aircraft, by choosing either Airbus or Boeing aircraft types, in the coming months. The airline will have a fleet of 20 aircraft in two years, so that it can begin international flights.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zoom Air (India)". ch-aviation. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. ^ Srivastava, Tushar (15 September 2016). "Delhi-based Zexus Air likely to get wings". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Zoom Air begins operations from today: All you need to know about India's newest commercial airline". The Financial Express. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Schedules". Zooom Air. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Zooom restarts services with Delhi-Ayodhya flight; plans fleet expansion". The Times of India. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ^ ch-aviation.com - Zoom Air retrieved 14 April 2019
  7. ^ a b "Zooom Airlines return to Indian skies with the launch of services to Ayodhya". Moneycontrol. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ Mishra, Laltendu (22 July 2014). "Six entities get permission to start airline operations". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Indian start-up Zoom Air adds first aircraft". ch-aviation. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Zoom Air, India's newest private airline, begins operations: All you must know". Zee News. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  11. ^ "India's Zoom Air grounded for safety reasons". ch-aviation. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b Nayak, Arun (29 December 2018). "Zoom Air likely to restart operations in January". The Financial Express. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b "40 मिनट में दिल्‍ली से आगरा, कम किराए में शुरू होने जा रही विमान सेवा Agra News". m.jagran.com.
  14. ^ "Zoom Air dragged to NCLT". The Hindu BusinessLine. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  15. ^ a b "DGCA renews Zexus Air Services' flying permit". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  16. ^ a b "One grounded airline plans to fly again, in January with Ayodhya flights". The Times of India. 17 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Explore Ayodhya–Find your next destination with us". Zooom Air. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Home". Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  19. ^ "About us". Zooom Air. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Gurugram-based Zooom Airlines gets air operator certificate for commercial passenger operations in India". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  21. ^ a b Velani, Bhavya (31 January 2024). "Zooom Airlines Return After More than 5 Years with New Flights to Ayodhya". Aviation A2Z. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Zoom Air is India's newest airline". Condé Nast Traveller. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
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