Akasa Air co-founder quits: Praveen Iyer, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Akasa Air, has resigned from the airline, marking the second high-profile exit from its founding team in less than three years of operations, Reuters reported.
Financialexpress.com could not verify the news independently. We have eached out to the company. The copy will be updated once we receive a response.
Who is the next commercial head?
Anand Srinivasan, the airline’s chief information officer, has been given additional charge as the new commercial head, according to Reuters report. Iyer was also a member of Akasa Air’s executive committee.
The development comes a day after an Akasa Air spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that GST officers had visited the airline’s offices as part of a “business verification process”.
DGCA scrutiny intensifies across airlines
Iyer’s departure comes at a time when regulatory scrutiny of Indian aviation has sharpened, following a wave of operational disruptions and safety audits.
Government data tabled at the Lok Sabha last week showed the number of technical faults reported across airlines has declined over the last three years, from 448 faults in 2023 to 421 in 2024 and 353 in 2025. However, safety audits initiated from January 2025 have flagged concerns around repetitive defects across fleets.
As per the data, out of 754 aircraft analysed, half, 377 aircraft, were identified as having repetitive defects as of 3 February 2026. Akasa Air had 14 aircraft flagged out of 32 analysed, according to the government’s audit findings.
About Akasa Air
Akasa Air, which currently holds about 5% of the market share in India’s aviation industry and is backed by the family of late billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, was launched by a group of aviation industry veterans, including chief executive Vinay Dube, formerly CEO of Go First and Jet Airways, and Aditya Ghosh, former president of IndiGo.
The airline’s founding team also included chief marketing officer Belson Coutinho, senior vice-president (strategy) Bhavin Joshi, and Neelu Khatri, who headed international operations and corporate affairs before exiting last year.