‘Bus Network In The Sky’ — How Zomato Co-Founder Goyal, LAT Aerospace Plan To Change Air Travel In India

India has 453 airstrips, but only around 157 are operational for commercial flights. For millions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, long journeys by road or rail remain the default. LAT Aerospace wants to change that by making flying work more like taking a bus.

Deepinder Goyal, who co-founded food delivery platform Zomato, is now eyeing the regional air travel segment with LAT Aerospace, according to a LinkedIn post by aerospace startup co-founder Surobhi Das.

Outlining the company’s vision, Das wrote: “Think buses in the sky — affordable, high-frequency, and designed to connect the places the airline industry overlooked.

In a LinkedIn post, Das announced LAT Aerospace’s plan to build a regional air network using compact “air-stops” — smaller than a parking lot — placed closer to where people live. These locations would allow passengers to skip the usual airport queues and security checks, enabling a direct walk-in and fly model.

The idea emerged during their time at Zomato, while travelling frequently across India. They kept returning to the same question: why is regional air travel still expensive, limited, and mostly confined to metro cities?

LAT Aerospace plans to develop both aircraft and infrastructure tailored for short-haul flights. The company is now inviting aerospace engineers, system designers, and others to join its effort to rethink how India flies.