Vistara, India’s newest airline venture will likely clear its last hurdle tomorrow and be awarded an air operator permit.
The airline, a partnership of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, performed 10 hours of ‘proving flights’ under the watchful eye of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officers on Thursday and Friday last week.
"We confirm that we have concluded our proving flights schedule early and this was the last and final milestone to be crossed. We now await the AOP to announce our operations," said Vistara chief executive Phee Teik.
DGCA test flights are mandatory before an operating permit is issued and the process has recently been beefed up to comply with US Federal Aviation standards, as India looks to upgrade its aviation rating.
The Vistara application had been delayed several times and last Monday union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju urged DGCA officials to issue the flying permit within 10 days.
The fledgling airline has two leased aircraft and plans to serve Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year from its base in Delhi.
