Jet Airways Grounds Four More Aircraft

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. on Tuesday said it grounded another four aircraft due to non-payment of lease rentals.

“An additional four aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements,” the financially-stressed full-service airline said in an exchange filing.

With this, the total number of aircraft taken out of operations due to severe liquidity crunch in the airline and its subsequent failure to pay rentals to various lessors now stand at 32.

However, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal, in a letter to the airline’s equity partner Etihad Airways’ chief executive officer Tony Douglas last week, said more than 50 aircraft are grounded.

“As you are no doubt aware, Jet Airways is in a very precarious position, with more than 50 aircraft grounded and increasing arrears of vendors and salaries which makes the need for interim funding all the more imperative,” Goyal said in his letter dated March 8.

Jet Airways also said it is making all efforts to minimise disruption to its network due to the grounding of these planes and is “proactively” informing and re-accommodating its affected guests.

The airline has, however, not given the specific numbers of flights it has been cancelling every day due to the grounding of these planes.

Jet Airways also continues to provide required and periodic updates to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in this regard, the airline said.