Jet Airways, the former full-service carrier of India, under their new promoters Jalan-Kalrock Consortium conducted its maiden test flight to and from the Hyderabad airport on Thursday in a step towards obtaining the air operator certificate. This is the first flight of Jet Airways in three years, which has not flown since April 17, 2019, is currently in the process of re-launching operations.
A test flight is conducted to prove the aviation regulator DGCA that the aircraft and its components are operating normally. After the test flight on Thursday, an airline has to conduct proving flights after which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will grant the air operator certificate (AOC).
Jet Aiways shared images and video on social media platforms to highlight the test flight. The airline’s CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said on Twitter that the test flight’s operation was a very emotional moment “for all the wonderful folks who have been working hard to get Jet back in the skies”.
The Thursday’s flight was a test flight, not a proving flight, he clarified. “The aircraft will position to Delhi this evening. Proving flight to be scheduled in the coming days from Delhi,” he added.
Proving flights are similar to commercial flight with DGCA officials and airline officials as passengers and cabin crew members on board. The Thursday’s test flight was conducted with Boeing 737 aircraft of registration code VT-SXE.
Jet Airways recently announced that they will follow the Vistara’s model to hire cabin crew. The company will first hire female cabin crew and will hire male air crew later, just like Vistara, who hired male crew 3 years after hiring female crew.
