Budget airline IndiGo congratulated the Naresh Goyal-founded international airline Jet Airways on its first test flight since April 17, 2019. IndiGo retweeted Jet Airways’ tweet and wrote, “Congratulations Jet Airways! Wishing you all the best as you prepare for this new start.”
Congratulations @jetairways !Wishing you all the best as you prepare for this new start 💙🙌 #Jetairways #Aviation https://t.co/9B9tWEuozX
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) May 5, 2022
Soon after this tweet became viral, Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor thanked IndiGo for their wishes and said, “Thank you so much team IndiGo! This means a lot to us, you guys have set the benchmark really high and shown what is achievable by an airline in India in terms of size, scale and consistency of operations with a huge focus on the basics! Cheers!”
Thank you so much Team Indigo! This means a lot to us, you guys have set the benchmark really high and shown what is achievable by an airline in India in terms of size, scale, and consistency of operations, with a huge focus on the basics! Cheers! @IndiGo6E https://t.co/cd1gITsnrE
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) May 6, 2022
For the unversed, Jet Airways conducted its test flight to and from the Hyderabad airport on Thursday in a bid to get the air operator certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Jet Airways tweeted, “This is to clarify that Jet Airways operated a test flight in Hyderabad earlier today, and a positioning ferry flight to Delhi thereafter. These are not proving flights. We expect to schedule proving flights in the coming days, which would be jointly determined with DGCA.”
This is to clarify that Jet Airways operated a test flight in Hyderabad earlier today, and a positioning ferry flight to Delhi thereafter. These were not proving flights. We expect to schedule proving flights in the coming days, which would be jointly determined with DGCA.
— Jet Airways (@jetairways) May 5, 2022
Now, when does an airline carry out a test flight? An airline conducts a test flight to prove in front of the DGCA that the aircraft and its components are in perfect operational condition. This test flight was conducted with a Boeing 737 aircraft having a registration code VT-SXE. After this flight, Jet Airways will have to carry out a spate of proving flights to get the air operator certificate or AOC from the aviation regulator.
So, what happens in a proving flight? In this case, the airline staff is required to conduct themselves just as they would while carrying out commercial operations to prove preparedness and aviation safety standards. These flights are similar to commercial flight with DGCA officials and airline officials as passengers and cabin crew members on board.
