The lessor of seven aircraft have withdrawn their application to de-register their plans with the aviation regulator DGCA, implying that these planes would be leased out to airlines within the country.

The seven ATR 72-500 planes had been leased out to Jet Airways by Aergo Capital Limited, a global aircraft leasing firm based in Ireland.

Apart from the Irish firm, the other lessors who have approached the DGCA for deregistration include Fly Aircraft Holdings Nineteen, Wells Fargo Trust Company, CIT Group Finance, Fly Aircraft Holdings Seventeen and Jade Aviation.

Two aircraft leased by Avolon and five aircraft leased by MCAP have been de-registered. Requests for five aircraft from ACG, four from SMBC, three from BBAM, and five from Avolon are with the DGCA.

Aviation sector watchers said the withdrawal of the application is a signal that the global players continue to have faith in the Indian aviation sector which has seen Kingfisher and Sahara Airlines, among others, fail.

Sources said these planes could be leased out to players such as SpiceJet, Alliance Air, TruJet, Air Deccan and Air Odisha Aviation, who have won the rights under the UDAN scheme, which tries to connect tier-II and tier-III cities.

The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul planes which can seat 72–78 passengers in a single-class arrangement. Analysts said the demand for these short-haul plans have been rising as the government’s regional air connectivity scheme seems to be hitting the right notes.

The government has eased the process of deregistration of the lessors after Kingfisher Airlines was grounded. Once the request for de-registration is filed by the lessor, the regulator process the application within five days.