Jet Airways, under its new promoters the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, has obtained security clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs, company sources told BusinessLine. The security clearances have come in “some days back”, the official said.
The airlines is sticking to its plan of launching commercial operations in the July-September quarter of this fiscal. The security clearance from MHA also means a clearance for the change in shareholding pattern of the company or firm for schedule operator permit.
“A correspondence from the Ministry was received on May 6 and it also gave a clearance to the new shareholding pattern or ownership of the company,” the official said. BusinessLine has reached out to the Jet Airways management for comment and is awaiting a response.
Earlier this month, the airline had conducted a test flight from Hyderabad – the carrier’s first since April 2019, before it went bankrupt because of which flights were grounded. A test flight is conducted to prove to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) – the country’s aviation regulator – that the aircraft and its components are running normally.
Proving flights
The Jalan-Kalrock consortium, it may be recalled, had emerged as the winner of the National Company Law Tribunal – monitored insolvency resolution process in June last year. Jet Airways now needs to clear the process for revalidation of the Air Operator Certificate (AOC). The proving flights – to obtain the AOC – are expected by the end of this month. It needs to conduct five flights to get the approval, officials said.
In a proving flight, the airline staff must behave in a fashion identical to when they carry out commercial operations to prove preparedness and safety standards. This involves check-in-counter staff, engineers, pilots, and cabin crew performing their duties. Passengers will include airline people and DGCA officials.
The airlines’ team is already working with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), and the DGCA to get all the necessary approvals. Jet Airways will use a Boeing 737 (VT – SXE) aircraft during the proving flights. The aircraft, earlier operated by the company’s old management, was subsequently leased out to SpiceJet.