ZeroAvia has announced that MEHAIR has placed a conditional order for up to 20 ZA600 hydrogen-electric engines. The order adds to the over 2,000 engine pre-orders secured by ZeroAvia.
MEHAIR (Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Pvt Ltd.) has historically offered services across the Indian sub-continent, commencing with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2011. The company now has ambitious plans to grow across a range of sub-regional routes across India with both amphibian and wheeled aircraft.
MEHAIR will explore a range of options for financing the acquisition and retrofit of the engines to its upcoming fleet of ten Cessna Caravan aircraft, including working with potential leasing partners. The company already has a relationship with MONTE as its preferred ZA600 lessor partner. ZeroAvia and MEHAIR will also work together on establishing the fuel supply for the operator’s services across India.
ZeroAvia plans to certify the ZA600 by the end of 2025 and is already working closely with the UK’s CAA as well as other regulators to ensure harmonization and rapid certification globally.
India has big aspirations to use hydrogen as a key enabler of its clean energy future, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like aviation, and to deliver net-zero by 2070. A target of reaching five million metric-tonnes of hydrogen production per annum has been set for 2030.
Aviation too is growing dramatically across the country, with passenger numbers more than doubling over the last decade and more than 500 million passengers per annum predicted by 2030 according to CAPA, India.
