India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued type certification for several aircraft from Embraer’s E-Jets family, including the E190, E195 and the newer E195-E2. It is an important regulatory step for the Brazilian manufacturer in India, but at the same time, for the older members of the family, it is a certification that comes exceptionally late, considering that the E190 and E195 first flew more than two decades ago.

The E190 performed its first flight on March 12, 2004, from Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, while the larger E195 first flew in December of the same year. According to EASA documentation, the E190 was certified in Brazil on August 30, 2005, while European validation followed on June 30, 2006. The E195, meanwhile, received European certification in July 2006, shortly after its Brazilian certification. In other words, India is formally certifying the E190 and E195 roughly 20 years after the aircraft entered service in other major markets.

Embraer, however, emphasizes that the certification opens new opportunities for the development of regional air transport in India. Raul Villaron, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing and Head of Region Asia Pacific, Commercial Aviation, thanked the DGCA for its assessment and stated that, with their performance, economics and passenger comfort, the E-Jets family can support India’s regional connectivity vision under the UDAN program.

Unlike the first-generation E190 and E195, the certification of the E195-E2 in India comes at a much more logical point in the aircraft’s market development. The E195-E2 received certification from Brazil’s ANAC, the U.S. FAA and Europe’s EASA in 2019, after the E190-E2 had been certified by the same three authorities a year earlier.

Embraer positions the E195-E2 as the most fuel-efficient small narrowbody aircraft in operation, with lower operating costs, a cabin arranged in a 2-2 configuration without middle seats, larger overhead bins and modernized passenger service units. The company states that the E-Jets family has recorded more than 1,900 deliveries and operates with more than 80 airlines in over 50 countries.

In India, the E175 had already been type certified and is in service with Star Air, which operates a fleet of 11 E175 and ERJ145 aircraft. Embraer has nearly 50 aircraft in India across 11 different models, covering commercial, business and defense aviation. The Indian market is further underlined by the previously announced cooperation with Adani Defence & Aerospace, with which Embraer signed an enhanced Memorandum of Understanding in February 2026 aimed at potentially establishing a final assembly line for the E175 under India’s Regional Transport Aircraft program.

Adity Shekhar, Embraer’s Regional Vice President, Sales, said the E-Jets offer a range of up to seven hours and the capability to operate from challenging airports, including those with short runways or lower pavement strength. According to him, this combination enables airlines to open routes that are too small for larger narrowbody aircraft, but too long for turboprops.

Still, the most interesting aspect of this certification remains its timing. While the E195-E2 can be viewed as a current product with a clear market outlook, India’s certification of the first-generation E190 and E195 comes at a time when the program has long since proven its market value, achieved a global presence and entered a mature phase of its life cycle. The DGCA’s decision is therefore primarily a regulatory opening for Embraer’s broader presence in India, rather than a genuine novelty for aircraft that have been anything but unknown on the global market for the past two decades.