Fly Jinnah (9P, Karachi International) has secured its air operator's certificate and operating licence just three weeks after inducting its first aircraft. The start-up confirmed the news via its social media channels on Tuesday, October 11. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has also listed the airline as a certified operator.
Fly Jinnah is majority owned by the Lakson Group, a diversified Karachi-based business. Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah) also has a stake in the airline and is drawing on its experience as a low-cost carrier to assist in the startup stage. Fly Jinnah is yet to provide a firm start date or detailed route information, but it has previously said it plans to start with domestic operations out of Karachi before commencing international flights.
"We are proud to achieve the first milestone in building Fly Jinnah’s history. A lot of hard work has been put into achieving this outcome," said Fly Jinnah Chairman Iqbal Ali Lakhani. "We look forward to launching Fly Jinnah’s operations."
"This milestone reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest possible safety standards across airline operations while providing the highest value to all our customers. We thank the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for their support throughout the entire process of obtaining the AOC and we are confident that Fly Jinnah will add significant value to the air transport sector of Pakistan," said Air Arabia Group Chief Executive Officer Adel Al Ali.
Fly Jinnah's first aircraft, A320-200 AP-BOO (msn 8942), was ferried to Karachi in September. According to recent ADS-B flight tracking data, the second and third A320-200s - AP-BOP (msn 8798) and AP-BOQ (msn 8748) - were ferried to Karachi on October 3.
