By Staff Correspondent
On Thursday, 5 May 5 2022, Jet Airways carried out a test flight to and from Hyderabad airport. This was conducted in an effort to obtain an ‘air operator certificate’ (AOC). The test flight duration was an hour and 38 minutes over Hyderabad itself. It may be poignant to note that the test flight was carried out on the airline’s 29th birthday and follows a three-year hiatus.
Manov Gupta and Vishesh Oberoi piloted the flight under 9W-101 (code). Jet Airways has not undergone flight operations since 17 April 2019; however, the airline is now undergoing initiatives to re-launch commercial operations with its new promoters, Kalrock Capital-Murari Lal Jalan consortium.
Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor took to Twitter to say that the test flight was an emotional moment for the airline. The airline’s Chief Executive clarified that it was merely a test flight and not a proving one. “The aircraft will position to Delhi this evening (5 May). Proving flight to be scheduled in the coming days from Delhi,” Kapoor added.
What are ‘test flights’ & ‘proving flights’?
Test flights are carried out to prove to aviation watchdogs, the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) in this case, that an aircraft along with its components are functioning normally. A Boeing 737 with the registration code VT-SXE was flown successfully during this test flight.
Following a test flight, airlines are mandated by the DGCA to carry out a proving flight, following which the Indian aviation watchdog issues an AOC. It may be poignant to note that proving flights are remarkably close to commercial flights, albeit with DGCA officials along with officials from airlines aboard. DGCA requires Jet Airways to conduct at least five flights on their intended operational route.
Jet Airways: New ownership & origins
Perhaps nostalgically for the organisation, it was on this day 29 years ago that Jet Airways had operated its flight. Crippling debt led the airline to cease commercial operations; however, after an insolvency resolution process under the bankruptcy code, the Kalrock Capital-Murari Lal Jalan consortium gave the dying airlines a new lease on life.
Founded in the 1990s by ticketing agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal the airline operated from the capital country’s Delhi and had set up a training and development centre in the nation’s financial capital, Mumbai. By February 2016, Jet Airways was the leading airline in the country, boasting a 21.2% passenger market share. Jet Airways, in its prime, flew more than 300 flights a day to 74 destinations globally.
