mobanmarketNew Delhi:
More than 1000 pilots and engineers of the cash-strapped Jet Airways have decided to stop flying from midnight, in effect grounding the airline, a senior official of the National Aviators Guild — the Union for Jet Airways pilots — told NDTV. Around 1,100 pilots are, however, expected to meet tomorrow morning and take a formal, collective decision.
“The flights will stop from midnight, the meeting will be held tomorrow,” said Captain Karan Chopra, Head of the National Aviators Guild. The pilots and engineers of the Jet Airways have not been paid for three months and the government should step in now, he said. “Unemployment is an election issue… In another day or two, more than 20,000 people in the Jet Airways can be unemployed,” he added.
A spokesperson of the Jet Airways said the “operations will be unaffected” by the National Aviators Guild strike, though the airline has a very curtailed schedule. “Seven aircraft will remain in operation, which will be flown by pilots who are not be part of the Guild,’ the airline said. Management sources told NDTV that 60 per cent of its pilots are not part of the Union. The airline used to operate 119 aircraft before its troubles started.
Saddled with more than $1.2 billion in bank debt, Jet Airways stopped most of its international flights over the last week and is yet to receive a Rs.1,500-crore loan as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March.
“It is time to seek for some answers, to humbly ask those who have the power to help us what the future may hold. Hence, we request all pilots to gather at Siroya Centre on the 15th at 1000 hrs in full uniform,” a statement from the pilots’ body read.
Over the last week, the airline had cancelled a series of flights, by Friday owing Rs. 3,500 crore to passengers alone, news agency Press Trust of India has reported. Besides banks, the Mumbai-based airline also owes money to to lessors, suppliers and oil companies.
The group of Jet Airways’ lenders, led by the State Bank of India, have been seeking a new investor to take a stake of up to 75 per cent in the airline. Initial bids were to be submitted by the end of Wednesday, but the bank has extended the deadline to April 12.
On Wednesday, Indian Oil Corporation halted the supply of fuel to Jet Airways for a few hours over non-payment of dues.