ExpressJet Airlines (Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has announced it will restart commercial operations by November 2021 after having been granted a final fitness re-certification order by the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

In a statement posted on social media, the airline said it would announce its detailed flight plans in the coming weeks.

It had stopped flying end of September last year after the termination of its United Express operations when United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) decided to move all of its E145s to CommutAir (Cleveland Hopkins) amid the health crisis.

After a period of dormancy, the airline in April 2021 announced it would restart operations as an independent regional carrier, however, the passage of time had required it to seek DOT fitness recertification in order to “reboot,” it said. It intends to begin operations with its single EMB-145LR leased from Regional One, adding up to nine more units of the type over the next 12 months.

As described in a regulatory notice by the DOT on July 30, 2021, ExpressJet was found to be “fit, willing, and able to resume interstate air transportation of persons, property, and mail as a US certified air carrier”. ExpressJet holds Part 121 FAA certification and is headquartered in College Park, Georgia – near Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson.

The airline said it expected to resume service within the quarter with a focus on cities, markets, and customers that had seen diminished air service as a result of airline consolidation and an industry trend towards larger aircraft. “ExpressJet will leverage its 35-year history of having flown several hundred aircraft to most of America’s smaller airports and intends to provide service in small and abandoned markets with unmet customer needs - avoiding needless overlap with the major airlines and ultra-low-cost carriers,” its statement read.

The airline’s updated balance sheet, as of June 2021, reflects liquidity of USD29 million in bank accounts with Wells Fargo Bank, Minneapolis, while the total pre-operating expenses remaining to be paid are about USD25 million. This includes USD15.3 million for the first three months of operating expenses and current liabilities of USD9.4 million.

ExpressJet said the resumption of service would allow it to begin recalling and reinstating furloughed employees. Most would be covered by collective bargaining agreements with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).