India’s largest private airliner, Jet Airways, has been into the financial woes. As a consequence, the international passengers are stranded in India and elsewhere in the world after the airliner grounded all its international flats all of a sudden. Some of the flights grounded include those from Amsterdam, Paris, and London.
Jet Airways is reeling under the debts of around $1bn (£765m) of debt. It is seeking a financial lifeline, and the lenders have been expecting the investors to buy a 75 percent stake in the airliner by the end of Friday last – the 12th April 2019. With nothing of that sort coming to the fore, the management decided to ground the flights until Monday. It is expected to meet the lenders for sorting out the issues and try attaining secure funding.
It is understood that the Prime Minister’s office had called an urgent meeting with the airliner to address the issue. The Aviation Ministry is attempting to review the issues related to Jet Airways, a tweet from the Indian Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu said.
It should be noted that Jet Airways owes money to its employees and suppliers and with the worsening financial strains, has canceled thousands of its flights already. This can be a precarious situation for the Indian government given the fact that India is holding a general election and the incumbent government would not want its electoral prospects being affected. The collapse of the airliner is likely to affect over 23000 jobs.
However, Jet Airways has not yet declared bankruptcy and has been seeking financial aid. This can, perhaps, be a silver lining and we may be able to expect something coming up. But, sadly enough – the situation does not appear to be that much impressive or hopeful though. The lenders – including the State Bank of India- have been asking the investors to buy the stake and take control of the situation. Until that happens, there may be no further chances of the revival of the company. A large number of lessors have already stayed away from resolving the issue.
The meeting on Monday is perhaps the last hope left for the airliner and its future.
