Crisis-hit Jet Airways on Wednesday said seven more aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals. So far this month, as many as 13 planes of the company have been grounded on account of non-payment of rentals to lessors.
In a filing to the stock exchanges, the full-service airline said, “an additional seven aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements”.
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The carrier is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken to improve its liquidity, the filing said. Faced with acute financial woes, the airline is looking to restructure its debt as well as raise funds. On February 23, the airline said an additional two planes have been grounded. This followed an announcement made to stock exchanges on February 7 that it has grounded four of its aircraft on account of non-payment of lease rentals.
Jet Airways on Wednesday also said it continues to provide required and periodic updates to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Shares of the airline closed flat at Rs 224.85 apiece on the BSE.
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Pilots defer agitation plan
Jet Airways domestic pilots body, National Aviators Guild (NAG), on Wednesday deferred its proposed agitation from next month in view of the Indo-Pak tension. The airline has 1,600 pilots, over 1,100 of whom are unionised and represented by the NAG. Pilots had on Monday said that they would not perform additional duties and wear black bands from March to protest against salary delays. The airline has been delaying salaries to its pilots along with engineers and senior management since
last August. “As you are aware, we were planning a flight safety period from March 1. Everything, however, needs to be done at an appropriate time. The country is in a state of high alert following the events across the border. At a time like this, we need to stand united with the rest of the country,” NAG said in a communication to its members.
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“All are informed that the flight safety period and the black band protest has been called off till further notice,” the guild added and expressed hope that all its members will see the reason in deferring the protest call and stand united behind the decision.
Meanwhile, the airline on Tuesday paid the balance 25% of the November salary and 12.50% of the December salary.
