NEW DELHI: India’s civil aviation minister has called for an emergency meeting about Jet Airways as the cash-strapped carrier struggles to make payments to its creditors and has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights.
The minister, Suresh Prabhu, has asked the civil aviation secretary to call for a meeting to discuss grounding of flights, advance bookings, cancellations, refunds, and safety issues, if any, at Jet.
Saddled with debt of more than US$1 billion, Jet is struggling to stay afloat. It has delayed payments to banks, suppliers, pilots and lessors – some of whom have forced the airline to ground as many as 41 planes.
Prabhu, in a tweet, said he has also asked the civil aviation secretary to get hold of a report on Jet’s compliance issues from the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.