Jet Airways to Conduct First Proving Flight

DALLAS - Jet Airways' (9W) new promoters, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, are set to fly the first proving flight between Delhi and Mumbai and back.

The announcement of the test flights, which will take place on Sunday, May 15, and then on May 17, was made by authorities from India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Proving flights are an essential step for 9W in revalidating its air operator certificate (AOC) and resuming commercial flights. In April 2019, 9W flights were halted amid bankruptcy proceedings with a debt of US$1.2bn and a cessation of services.

Three years later, the airline has met its target of beginning commercial operations in the July-September quarter of this year.

Jet Airways VT-JGV Boeing 737-85R(WL). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

Proving Flights

To demonstrate preparedness and safety requirements, airline personnel are required to operate in the same manner as while conducting commercial operations during a proving flight. Check-in personnel, engineers, pilots, and cabin crew are all completing their tasks. Passengers typically include airline operations and management personnel, as well as DGCA officials.

Jet Airways requires five proving flights or 10 hours of flight time to re-validate its AOC. Its flight verification procedure is expected to be finished by May 17.

According to senior DGCA officials, other routes for proving flights have been proposed, including Delhi - Mumbai, Delhi – Hyderabad, and Delhi – Bengaluru.

The crew taking part in 9W's proving flights on May 15, doing the classic move pioneered by the airline. Photo: Jet Airways via Twitter

Key Passengers

It should be noted that 9W has previously addressed procedural difficulties such as performing a test flight (between Hyderabad and Delhi on May 5) and obtaining security approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Aside from DGCA officials, the pilots, and the all-female cabin crew, passengers on board are expected to include 9W's Director of Engineering and Director of Flight Safety, among others.

The airline will fly a Boeing 737 previously operated by 9W under its previous management led by Naresh Goyal before it was leased to SpiceJet (SG). According to DGCA officials, there are no specific concerns about the aircraft's safety. Any new aircraft orders placed by the carrier will be announced after the revalidation of its AOC.

Featured image: Jet Airways VT-JTH Boeing 737-8KN(WL). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways