Jet Airways cancels international flights till Apr 18; SBI says bid process being vetted

Mumbai [India] Apr 15 (ANI): Jet Airways on Monday cancelled its international operations till April 18 as the debt-ridden airline seeks interim funding from group of lenders headed by the State Bank of India, according to a statement sent out by the Jet CEO to its employees.
"As you are aware, we have been working with the lenders to secure interim funding for our operations. The interim funding has not been forthcoming thus far, and as a result of this we have extended cancellation of international operations through Thursday, April 18," CEO Vinay Dube said.
On April 12, the debt-ridden airline had cancelled its international operations till April 15.
The management would also apprise the board about its engagement with lenders in a meeting scheduled on Tuesday, Dube added.
An SBI-led consortium has taken over the debt-ridden airlines after chairman and founder Naresh Goyal stepped down from the Board on March 25. Burdened with high operating costs and a huge debt, the airline has been facing the biggest crisis in its history.
Meanwhile, In a statement late on Monday, SBI spokesperson said: "The bid process for an orderly sale of equity in Jet Airways is currently being run by SBI CAPS and is being vetted by the legal team. The prospective bidders will be shortlisted by SBI CAPs shortly.
"The proposed equity conversion by banks, if any, will be undertaken as a transitory mechanism to facilitate the bidding cum sale process, it said.
SBI said it is acting on behalf of the group of lenders as part of the Bank Led Resolution Process.
"Necessary support to facilitate the process is being extended by the banks in the consortium. Cooperation by and support from all the other stakeholders will be the key to the success of the process," the SBI spokesperson said.
On April 11, the union government had said that the airline's eligibility to operate on international route flights needs to be examined.
Jet Airways' pilots body National Aviator's Guild (NAG) earlier on Monday protested against the airlines for not giving salaries to its employees for the last three months and organised a solidarity meeting here.
Speaking to ANI, Captain Asim Valiani, Senior Commander and Vice-President of NAG, said: "Pilots, engineers and managers have not received their salaries for the last three months, and salaries have been irregular for the last seven to eight months."
"Government had promised us that it will intervene through the State Bank of India (SBI) and it is serious regarding saving 20,000 jobs. But we have not seen the money yet," he added.
(ANI)