Jet Airways’ parent company, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), announced that the airline’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) was renewed on July 28, 2023.
According to the announcement, published on July 31, 2023, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) renewed Jet Airways’ AOC, which reinforced the consortium’s “commitment to revive India’s most admired airline, Jet Airways”. Furthermore, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium said that the renewed AOC points to the DGCA’s confidence in the revival of the grounded airline.
“JKC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the aviation regulator, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and all other stakeholders, in showcasing their faith in JKC and in the revival of Jet Airways,” the company continued, adding that the consortium continues working on “implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline’s success”.
The new parent company of Jet Airways will also continue working with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders to revive Jet Airways in the coming weeks.
The DGCA’s latest approved scheduled passenger AOC list does not include Jet Airways as of yet. However, the document was last updated on June 27, 2023.
Jet Airways suspended operations in April 2019 after running into financial trouble, similar to the recently privatized Air India. Jet Airways’ AOC previously expired in May 2023. According to the DGCA’s previous version of the approved airline document listing, the airline had a single Boeing 737-800 in its fleet, registered as VT-SXE. Ch-aviation.com data still shows the aircraft associated with the airline.
JKC successfully bid for Jet Airways’ assets in June 2021, when the airline was still going through the insolvency process before the Indian National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). While this would mark the second time the carrier’s AOC was renewed by the consortium, it still is yet to take off on a first commercial flight since April 2019.
Furthermore, it remains unclear who sits at the helm of the airline. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-designate, Sanjiv Kapoor, who is now working with SAUDIA, departed the company on May 1, 2023, with JKC only announcing the appointment of Jatinderpal Sing Dhillon as the Accountable Manager starting July 2023.
“With a strong background in piloting, management, and training, Captain Dhillon aims to bring strategic value towards making Jet Airways revival process a huge success,” read JKC’s announcement on July 26, 2023.