With cash issues burning huge holes in Jet Airways’ pockets, the airline suspended 12 international flights till the end of April. According to industry reports, the airline has an outstanding debt of Rs. 8,000 crores, along with an additional due amount of Rs. 15,000 crores to multiple vendors.
So far, flights flying to Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Dammam, Singapore, Manchester and Dhaka stand suspended till the 30th of April. One of the flights was cancelled due to the closure of the Pakistan airspace and not because of cash issues.
“An additional seven aircraft including two planes of JetLite, have been grounded due to non payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements (sic.,)” the airline said in a statement sent to the stock market on Friday morning.
With no funds coming in any time soon and lenders making it hard for the airline to function, the Naresh Goyal led airline had to reduce its flights from 600 to 119 flights a day. In addition to the multiple international flights which are stopped, the airline is also going to stop the flight travelling from Delhi and Mumbai to Kathmandu, Bangkok, Doha, Kuwait and Singapore.
An influx of Rs. 1,000 crores is said to be in the works for the airline. However, looking at the dire state of the situation, this lifeboat may not be sent in time to save the continuously sinking Jet Airways.”The airline alone has estimated advance ticket sales of Rs. 1,500-2,000 crore. There are total payables and debt of Rs. 25,000 crore. Anything short of Rs. 10,000 crore might not have a dent on the current situation that the airline is going through (sic.,)” said a source close to the developments.
Over 16,500 employees currently stand to lose their jobs if this situation continues. With the market share of the airline dropping constantly, the staff and crew are looking at other places for employment.
For more updates about the Jet Airways situation, stay tuned.
