The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reissued an Air Operator's Certificate to Jet Airways (Mumbai International) on May 20, 2022, clearing the final bureaucratic hurdle ahead of the carrier's relaunch.
Jet said it would unveil its fleet and network plans shortly. The exact timeline for the relaunch has yet to be confirmed, but it hopes to resume commercial flight operations at some point in the third quarter of 2022.
The airline's active fleet currently comprises a single B737-800, VT-SXE (msn 34802), which was used for its AOC proving flights. Sources told the Times of India that Jet is planning to announce a major fleet order soon. The carrier is opportunistically scouting the market for aircraft either returned or not taken up by airlines in Russia due to international sanctions imposed on the country for its invasion of Ukraine.
"Till a few months back, there was a long waiting period to get a new A320neo or B737. After the Ukraine crisis, delivery slots for Russian carriers have been cancelled and also some Indian carriers have deferred their deliveries. Now new planes will be available for Jet 2.0, and which aircraft we choose will be announced shortly. Now that Jet 2.0 has an AOC, leasing aircraft becomes possible," a source said.
Jet Airways retains an order for 125 B737-8s and ten B787-9s from Boeing placed in 2014 and 2006, respectively, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
Jet Airways suspended operations due to financial issues in mid-April 2019. After a complex process, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the acquisition of the dormant airline by the Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock Capital consortium in mid-2021. However, until now, the airline has remained owned by its consortium of creditors - under the plan, the recertification of the carrier was a necessary step before its new owners could formally take control, even though they have already funded the process.
