Air India Express

Air India Express was established in April 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the then-government-owned Air India, conceived to provide low-cost scheduled services on the lucrative India-Gulf routes where the high volume of migrant worker traffic demanded competitive pricing. The airline launched service on April 29, 2005 between Kochi and Dubai. Air India Express grew steadily through the 2000s and 2010s, becoming the primary carrier for Indian workers traveling to and from the Gulf. The most devastating moment in the airline's history came on August 7, 2020, when Air India Express Flight IX 1344 overshot the runway at Kozhikode (Calicut) airport during a COVID-era repatriation flight, killing 21 of the 190 people aboard including both pilots.

The accident led to significant safety investigations and reforms. Following the Tata Group's acquisition of Air India in 2022, Air India Express was merged with AirAsia India (renamed AIX Connect) to create a larger low-cost entity. In May 2024, Air India Express faced an unprecedented employee crisis when cabin crew members called in sick en masse in protest of management decisions, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations.