Hans Airways first Airbus A330 arrives into UK, being readied for proving flight from Birmingham

UK new long-haul airline readying to fly to India, Hans Airways, celebrated the arrival of its first Airbus A330-200 on UK soil. The aircraft touched down from Palma Airport, Mallorca to Birmingham International Airport, welcomed by CEO Satnam Saini, COO Nathan Burkitt and CCO Martin Dunn for Hans Airways, ahead of formal technical handover and technical acceptance signing with the lessor.  Hans Airways has partnered with maintenance and repair overhaul specialist STS Aviation Services for Re-Registration tasks and Entry into service modifications ahead of its important route-proving flight for the UK Civil Aviation Authority in the coming weeks. The A330 will fly as newly re-registered G-KJAS. 

Since 2020, Hans Airways has maintained a close dialogue with the UK Civil Aviation Authority on its progress. Prior to arriving in Palma, the aircraft underwent a thorough 200-hour inspection in Abu Dhabi by Etihad Engineering. The aircraft was required to return to Spain, its original country of registration for final contractual, administration, financial transfer and customs clearance. In Palma work included a final internal inspection of the engines and rectification of any defect identified on the airworthiness and positioning flight.

Satnam Saini, CEO, commented: “Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways’ journey to launch. These past 12 months we are very pleased to have added a wealth of competence and experience to our leadership and management team and recruited and trained up a full complement of exceptional pilots and cabin crew who will be ready to fly as soon as the airline’s AOC is awarded. 

Colby Payne, Head of Sales for STS, said: "We are delighted STS has been selected as a long-term key maintenance supplier to support Hans Airways’ Airbus A330. As a result of this partnership, we have accepted the first aircraft for a maintenance visit at our state of the art, wide-body aircraft MRO facility in Birmingham and look forward to supporting Hans Airways with further projects as its growth continues.”

Amritsar / Golden Temple will be its first route

Once it has its AOC, together with similar accreditation from India’s DGCA, Hans Airways is planning an initial four times weekly service from Birmingham to Amritsar in North India. Amritsar is a major commercial and cultural centre in the heart of Punjab. The city is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion and home to the Harmandir Sahib, famously known as the Golden Temple.  

As Hans Airways finalises slots and timetable, it plans to operate ACMI / charter services, which will help with crew training ahead of the scheduled service operation, Satnam Saini said.