Blue Dart Aviation

Blue Dart Aviation

IATA ICAO Call sign BZ [1] BDA BLUE DART [2]
Founded	1995;30 years ago (1995) [3]
Hubs	Chennai [3] Hyderabad Kolkata Mumbai
Fleet size	8
Destinations	8
Parent company	Deutsche Post DHL Group (70%)
Headquarters	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Key people	Tushar Jani (Chairman) Nikhil B Ved (Managing director) [2]
Website	bluedart.com/aviation

Blue Dart Aviation is a cargo airline based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It serves seven Indian metro cities with its main base as Chennai International Airport. German courier company Deutsche Post owns a 70% stake in the airline through its subsidiary Blue Dart Express. ^{[4] [5]} It provides service in over 220 countries and territories all over the world through their parent company's parcel service DHL. Blue Dart opened its dedicated cargo facility at Mumbai airport near Terminal 1 on 7 February 2019. The facility measures 4,300 m² (46,000 sq ft) and has air-side and city-side access, allowing for faster transfer of shipments. ^[6]

History

Blue Dart Aviation was incorporated in May 1994 as a fully owned subsidiary of Blue Dart Express Limited. ^[7] The company officially commenced operations with a fleet of Boeing 737-200 freighters on June 17, 1996, creating India’s first domestic express airline. ^{[8] [9]}

In June 2018, Blue Dart Aviation inaugurated a state of the art aviation hub in Chennai. ^[10]

In September 2023, Blue Dart had expanded its aircraft fleet to eight by adding two Boeing 737-800 freighters, supplementing its existing Boeing 757-200 fleet. ^[11]

Destinations

Blue Dart Aviation flies to the following destinations within India, as of February 2023: ^[2]

City	Airport	Notes	Ref
Ahmedabad	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
Bangalore	Kempegowda International Airport
Chennai	Chennai International Airport	Hub
Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport
Hyderabad	Rajiv Gandhi International Airport	Hub
Kolkata	Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport	Hub
Mumbai	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport	Hub
Guwahati	Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport		[12]

Blue Dart Aviation B757-200PCF

Fleet

Current fleet

Blue Dart Boeing 757-200SF

As of August 2025 ^[update] , Blue Dart Aviation operates the following aircraft: ^[13]

Blue Dart Aviation fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Notes
Boeing 737-800PCF	2	—	Operated for DHL Aviation [ citation needed ]
Boeing 757-200PCF	6	—
Total	8	—

Former fleet

One of the 737-200Fs Operated by Blue Dart

The airline operated the Boeing 737-200F until 2014. ^[14]

References

1. "IATA – Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
2. "Corporate details, Blue dart Aviation". bluedartaviation.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
3. "Airline Information". ch-aviation. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
4. "Blue Dart Express Buys Majority Stake in Blue Dart Aviation". NDTV. 22 June 2015.
5. "Blue Dart Express raises stake in aviation company". 22 June 2015.
6. "Blue Dart launches a new state-of-the-art facility at Mumbai International Airport". India Infoline . 8 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
7. Standard, Business (23 November 2004). "Blue Dart arm sale cleared". Business News, Finance News, India News, Stock Markets BSE/NSE News, SENSEX, NIFTY, Personal Finance News. Retrieved 3 November 2025.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
8. Tan, Kelvin (6 August 2020). "Women in Aviation: how Blue Dart Aviation's MD lasted 50 years in the industry". DHL Logistics of Things. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
9. "Blue Dart boosts its market leadership through aviation hub in Chennai". The Times of India. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
10. Ayyappan, V (21 June 2018). "Blue Dart Aviation opens hub in Chennai". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
11. Sinha, Saurabh (20 September 2023). "'Added two more planes to our fleet; looking at heavy deliveries using drones': Blue Dart CCO Ketan Kulkarni". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
12. "About Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport - IndiaAirport.com". indiaairport.com. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
13. "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Blue Dart Aviation". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 61.
14. "India's Blue Dart Aviation retires country's last B737-200(F)". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015.