Jet Airways’ restart, after three years of the grounding of the airline, has completed a crucial milestone towards restart. The carrier has been granted its Airline Operator Certificate (AOC ) on May 20, having satisfied the request of the Indian regulatory agency DGCA. Jet Airways receives regulatory clearance to resume operations.
AirInsight has earlier reported on the hiring of a leadership team for the airline. The airline had recently received its security clearance from the Government of India. Subsequently, the airline needed to prove to the DGCA that it is capable to operate an airline. For this purpose, the airline has also leased its first 737 aircraft, which, incidentally, was an airframe used by Jet Airways earlier before being leased out to SpiceJet.
The final approval required for the start of operations was the revalidation of the AOC. This is an operational requirement and will be granted after the airline and the DGCA jointly conduct the proving flights, where the airline needs to operate flights for around ten hours. Theoretically, Jet Airways will be able to start commercial operations the day after its AOC is revalidated, however, the airline intends to only get back into the skies in Q3 2022.
To comply with this requirement, Jet Airways operated a set of five proving flights on May 15 and 17, with 31 people on board including the officials of the DGCA on board. During these flights, the DGCA assessed the crew for operational readiness in terms of standard operating procedures, as well as in special circumstances such as emergencies and diversions.
Having been satisfied with the route proving flight, the DGCA granted Jet Airways its AOC again on May 20. (DGCA)
Jet Airways today received its revalidated AOC. The Jalan Kalrock Consortium hereby has fulfilled all the conditions precedent under their NCLT approved Resolution Plan. The revalidation enables the carrier to resume scheduled commercial operations in India. This milestone also paves way for the comeback of the iconic airline in a new avatar with fresh funding, changed ownership, and new management.
Murari Lal Jalan, the Lead Member of the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, said: “Today marks a new dawn for not just Jet Airways, but also for the Indian aviation industry. We are now on the brink of creating history by bringing India’s most-loved airline back to the skies. We will not only live up to the great expectations from brand Jet Airways but also exceed them in many ways for today’s discerning flyers. We are committed to making this an extraordinary success story in Indian aviation and in Indian business. We are grateful to the NCLT, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the DGCA for supporting us at every step of our efforts to revive the airline.”
Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, added: “The “Joy of Flying” was a tagline for Jet Airways in an earlier era. We are delighted to announce that The Joy is coming back! He further added: “There is a need for an airline that is simply not a clone of other airlines, but actually offers something that is meaningfully different while offering new ways to attract, delight, and win customers. An airline that understands that doing the right thing by customers, staff, partners, and all stakeholders is the only way to do business. All of us on the re-start team are deeply committed and passionate about building the new Jet Airways into a modern, differentiated, people-focused airline for the digital age. We will combine the best of what Jet Airways was known for 25 years, with exciting new ideas to set the bar even higher.“
Jet Airways intends to recommence commercial operations in the quarter of July – September. The aircraft and fleet plan, network, product and customer value proposition, loyalty program, and other details will be unveiled in a phased manner over the coming weeks.
