The first Airbus A330-200 for start-up airline Hans Airways has arrived in the United Kingdom, part of the steps required for the new airline to achieve operating approval.
The carrier, which plans to link secondary cities in Britain and India from its base in Birmingham, had previously hoped to get approval to start flights in time for summer 2022, but now plans to launch this year.
“Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways’ journey to launch,” said CEO Satnam Saini in a statement on August 4, 2022.
The A330 arrived at Birmingham Airport (BHX) from Palma de Mallorca (PMI), where it had been undergoing inspections and paperwork.
The widebody is being re-registered as G-KJAS and Hans Airways said it hoped to carry out a route-providing flight for the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the coming weeks.
A route-proving flight is part of the process to gaining an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), required for operations.
Once it has the AOC, Hans Airways plans to launch four flights a week from Birmingham to Amritsar in North India.
“These past 12 months we are very pleased to have added a wealth of competence and experience to our leadership and management team and recruited and trained up a full complement of exceptional pilots and cabin crew who will be ready to fly as soon as the airline’s AOC is awarded,” added Saini.
Hans Airways plans to operate ACMI / charter services, which will help with crew training ahead of the scheduled service operation, Saini said.