The US Department of Transportation has extended the fitness certificate of AirBahn (Ontario International) by three months to April 30, 2022.
The Californian start-up's current certificate expires on January 31, 2022. Therefore, without an extension and in the face of still incomplete FAA certification, the authority would have expired shortly.
"We have verified the progress AirBahn has made with the FAA and find that good cause does exist to grant the company's request for an extension," the DOT said.
The airline previously said that it expected to complete its certification by the end of April, despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is currently on Phase 3 of the process and expects to move to the final phase shortly with proving flights of its only A320-200. Despite this plan, AirBahn requested the DOT to extend its certificate through the end of June 2022 to ensure additional margin, but the regulator did not agree to such an extension.
In a recent interview with ch-aviation, Executive Vice-President Scott Hall said AirBahn was still hopeful of a spring or summer 2022 launch.
