Akasa Air's co-founder, senior vice president for international ops Neelu Khatri resigns

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Akasa Air's Co-Founder and Senior Vice President for international operations Neelu Khatri has put in her papers, marking a high level exit at the three-year-old airline.

In a statement on Thursday, the airline confirmed that Khatri has decided to move on from the company to pursue a new direction in her professional journey. Specific details were not disclosed.

Earlier in the day, sources told PTI that Khatri has resigned from the airline. Khatri is among the founding team of Akasa Air, which started flying on August 7, 2022. She is also one of the executive committee members of the airline.

Apart from Khatri, Akasa Air has five other co-founders -- Aditya Ghosh, Anand Srinivasan, Belson Coutinho, Bhavin Joshi and Praveen Iyer.

Vinay Dube is the Founder and CEO of the airline.

In recent times, there have been some executive-level exits at the carrier. In August, the airline announced completion of fund raising from investors, including Premji Invest and Claypond Capital.

In the statement, the airline emphasised that its existing international operations and our exciting international expansion ambitions remain unchanged.

"An early believer in Akasa, Neelu has been integral in building on our vision and backing our early success. The company extends its sincere appreciation for her contributions and wishes her the very best in her future endeavours," it added.

The airline's domestic market share stood at 5.4 per cent in August, as per the latest official data.

Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and connects 24 domestic and 6 international cities.

In July, Akasa Air's Chief Financial Officer Ankur Goel said the airline was improving its financial performance, expanding capacity and aiming to have 226 planes by the end of 2032. PTI RAM IAS HVA