GoAir gets nod to fly to 9 nations

New Delhi,  GoAir has received government's approval to fly to nine countries including Iran, Uzbekistan and Kazakhastan, with the Wadia group airline now expecting to take to international skies early next year.

The approval for the Mumbai-based carrier which has been operating for over a decade, comes more than two months after the Government eased the overseas flying norms for Indian airlines.

The airline has received approval to operate flights to nine countries, including Iran, China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, a senior official said.

"We have got approval to fly to nine countries. We expect to start international operations from the next summer schedule," GoAir Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told PTI.

Generally, the summer schedule commences from the last Sunday of March and extends to the last Saturday of October every year.

GoAir would be the first Indian private carrier to fly to any CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). CIS countries for which the carrier has got flying nod include Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Azerbaijan.

Currently under the air service agreements, Indian carriers can operate 31 weekly services to Iran, seven to Azerbaijan, Kazakhastan (21), Uzbekistan (18) and China (42).