"john smith" wrote in message
...


All aircarriers are required to fly prescribed familiarization flights
into and out of any airport they intend to serve several times without
passengers before they begin passenger service. (There is a term for it,
but old age prevents me from recalling what it is.)

Having said that, I wonder if they are given credit for using the sim to
fullfil this requirement in these days of high level simulators?

When was this regulation put into effect? It wasn't there in ~1980 I was a
gate agent here at ELD when Skyways started flying in to the airport. For
the first month with few exceptions when those Metroliners came in it was
the first time the crew had ever been to that airport.