There are renewed hopes for Jet Airways' relaunch with the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) claiming it has paid Rs 350 crores towards the revival of the grounded airline. JKC said it has fulfilled all financial commitments needed to take control of the airline and hopes to take Jet Airways back to the skies in 2024.
"With this infusion, JKC has now fulfilled its total financial commitment of Rs 350 crore equity as per the court-approved resolution plan, and all commitments by JKC now stand fulfilled to take control of the iconic airline," the consortium said.
Jalan-Kalrock invoked the Rs 150 crores it had paid towards the performance bank guarantee as part of its payment. Then after several court appeals and deadline extensions, it deposited another Rs 100 crore in August and as ordered by the NCLAT, it paid an additional Rs 100 crore today.
While the JKC claims it has fulfilled all financial commitments needed for ownership transfer, there is no confirmation on whether the lenders are satisfied with this payment and are willing to handover the airline's control.
Another major hurdle could be the payment of over Rs 270 crore towards gratuity and provident fund of its former employees that was ordered by the Supreme Court. The consortium has asked the NCLAT to allow it to make these payments in installments of 3 years, 4 years and 5 years. The employee unions are planning to oppose that demand and seek one-time payment in case the tribunal grants that relief to JKC.
The airline also doesn't have an Air Operator's Certificate as yet. It will need to demonstrate operational capability with the required staff and fleet to renew the AOC.
The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium that won the mandate to revive the grounded Jet Airways has missed past deadlines for takeoff. It had first planned to kick-start operations in September 2022, then pushed the plan to October 2022 after which it fought a long legal tussle with lenders over payments and conditions for ownership transfer.
It now plans to return to the skies in 2024, an exact date will be revealed in the next few weeks.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First Published: Sept 29, 2023 6:15 PM IST
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