Jet crisis updates: No Jet Airways flights to Amsterdam, London, Paris till April 16

Crisis-hit Jet Airways on Sunday said it has extended the cancellation of its west-bound flights -- to and from Amsterdam, London and Paris -- until April 16. The airline had, on April 12, extended the suspension of its services to these destinations till April 15. "Jet Airways would like to clarify that it has currently suspended operations to SAARC and ASEAN destinations, as well as to or from Toronto and Paris from Chennai. The airline has also cancelled its long-haul, west-bound operations to or from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, and Paris until April 16, 2019," a Jet spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said that the airline has restricted sales on certain routes for a few days in order to re-accommodate guests "who have unfortunately been inconvenienced by the interim cancellations". IANS had exclusively reported earlier in the day that Jet has stopped forward bookings for some of its international sectors, including those for east Asia.

At present, the airline is operating only 7 aircraft for domestic operations due to grounding of over 80 per cent of its fleet by lessors, which has resulted in the cancellation of several hundred daily flights, resulting in inconvenience for scores of passengers at various airports. The airline`s unpaid employees too are upset and they have taken out silent marches in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Other developments

Pilots strike

More than a thousand pilots of India`s debt-laden Jet Airways will not fly from Monday as they have not been paid salaries for the past three months, the President of the National Aviators Guild said on Sunday. Saddled with more than $1.2 billion of bank debt, the airline has been teetering for weeks and has yet to receive a loan of about $217 million from its lenders as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March. "Pilots haven`t been paid for the last three months," Capt Karan Chopra told Reuters.

The crisis at Jet has deepened in recent weeks as lessors have started applying to deregister planes, signalling the planned bailout had failed to assuage their concerns. An urgent meeting to discuss the Jet situation was held at the prime minister`s office on Friday, which was also attended by the country`s aviation secretary, Pradeep Singh Kharola. After the meeting, Kharola said the carrier had money to operate 6-7 planes over the weekend and after that the lenders would have to decide how many jets it could fly after Monday afternoon, news channel ET Now reported late on Friday.

Kharola said the company will meet bankers on Monday for an infusion of funds in the interim, the TV channel said. According to a Business Standard newspaper report on Sunday, Jet`s lenders, led by the State Bank of India, are considering a proposal to infuse 10 billion rupees ($144.55 million) to keep the airline afloat.

The money is expected to be disbursed after the Jet management submits an operational plan on how it intends to use the money till May 7, the report said. An SBI spokesman could not immediately comment on the emergency funding being considered by lenders for Jet Airways. The lenders, who have been seeking a new investor to take a stake of up to 75 percent in the airline, hope to complete the selection of bidders by May 7.

Initial bids were to be submitted by the end April 10, but SBI extended the deadline to April 12. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which owns a 24-percent stake in the airline, private equity fund TPG Capital, the government-owned sovereign fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, and ousted chairman Naresh Goyal are among those to have submitted bids, the Business Standard reported.

Rajshree Pathy resigns as Jet Airways' independent director

Struggling carrier Jet Airways Sunday said its Independent Director Rajshree Pathy has quit the company, effective April 13, citing time constraints and other commitments. "This is to inform you that Rajshree Pathy has submitted her resignation as an Independent Director of the company with effect from April 13, owing to time constraints and on account of her other current commitments," Jet Airways said in an exchange filing. The loss-making airline is now under the management control of SBI-led consortium of lenders under a debt-recast plan approved by its board last month.