New Delhi: Jet Airways, the former full-service carrier of India, 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, after experiencing financial difficulties.
The airline company under their new promoters Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is currently in the process of re-launching operations.
A video has been shared by Jet Airways on its official Twitter handle which shows the plane taking off.
"Today, May 5, our 29th birthday, Jet Airways flew again! An emotional day for all of us who have been waiting, working, and praying for this day, as well as for Jet's loyal customers who can't wait for Jet to commence operations again," the accompanying tweet said.
This was a testing flight to ensure the aircraft's safety.
The video has received over 1,000 likes and over 14,000 views on Twitter.
The CEO of Jet Airways also re-tweeted the same post with the caption, "A very emotional moment for all the wonderful folks who have been working hard to get Jet back in the skies. This was a test flight, not a proving flight. The aircraft will position to Delhi this evening. Proving flight to be scheduled in the coming days from Delhi."
Last month, Jet Airways posted a photo of the "first intake of cabin crew" on Twitter. In the accompanying caption, it said, "The crew who will be part of creating history as they prepare to operate our proving flights soon. With the classic move that was pioneered by Jet Airways!"
The new owners of Jet Airways are Dubai-based, Indian-origin businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, the chairman of London-based financial advisory and alternative asset manager Kalrock Capital Management Ltd. Jet Airways was founded by ticketing agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal in the early 1990s.
Jet Airways operated earlier from Delhi with a training and development centre in Mumbai. In February 2016, it was one of India's largest airlines, with a 21.2 per cent passenger market share.