The entire Indian civil aviation industry has ganged up to block the entry of AirAsia India, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said on Monday.

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, which announced its plans to enter into the Indian market in February last year, has been facing severe opposition from local airlines.

Expressing his disappointment over unprecedented delays in the launch of AirAsia India, Mr. Fernandes said, "In any country that we have gone, we have never experienced an industry that has ganged up against us," Fernandes said in the interview."

He also admitted that there could be some cannabilsation between AirAsia India and the Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture (JV), which has plans to offer full-service operations in the country. It may be noted here that Tatas are also involved in the AirAsia India JV.

He stressed that it was an issue for the Tatas to sort out as they would be responsible for defining their business model.

AirAsia India has not received the air operator's permit, in spite of the expiry of two deadlines. The low-cost upcoming airline was initially looking to become operational by the end of 2013, but delays in the necessary regulatory approvals forced it to postpone the plan to February-March this year. Now, some experts believe that the upcoming elections would not allow the low-cost carrier to take off for the next few months.

AirAsia will own 49 per cent stake in the AirAsia India joint venture, while Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace will hold 30 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.