The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday announced that it had de-registered seven Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 aircraft, reported PTI. This will allow its lessors to take the planes out of the country and lease them to another airline.
The DGCA said on its website that the de-registered aircraft belong to Crolly Aviation, Mardal Aviation, Allenwood Aircraft Leasing, Dungarvan Aircraft Leasing, Elphin Aircraft Leasing, Carlow Aircraft Leasing and Ballyhaunis Aircraft Leasing, all of them headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
The companies had submitted a request to the DGCA last week to de-register the aircraft they had leased to the embattled Jet Airways, PTI said. Requests to de-register 24 more aircraft have been made, the aviation regulator said.
After the lessor puts forth irrevocable deregistration and export request authorisations, or IDERA, the DGCA checks if the aircraft has any pending dues and if none are found, the de-registration is allowed, PTI said.
The airline, which is facing a severe cash crunch, has grounded several aircraft in its fleet of 119 in recent months. Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said last week that only 26 aircraft are operational while Jet Airways last month said it is currently flying 35 planes.
On Wednesday, the Indian Oil Corporation reportedly cut oil supply to Jet Airways briefly over non-payment of dues for the second time in a week. The supply was cut around 3 pm and restored a few hours later, said ANI.
In more trouble for the airline on Wednesday, one of its Mumbai-bound flights was held back at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services issued a statement saying it had seized a Jet Airways Boeing 777 over unpaid fees.
The airline said the there was a delay because of “operational reasons”. “The airline will further update guests with revised timings,” it said, reported ANI. “Jet Airways regrets inconvenience caused to its guests.”
On Tuesday, a union of Jet Airways pilots reportedly served a legal notice to the airline threatening to take legal action if unpaid salaries from January onwards are not paid by April 14. The union claims to represent 1,000 of the airline’s 1,600 employees, PTI said.
The airline’s lenders, headed by State Bank of India, have offered to sell stake of up to 75% in Jet Airways and has invited bids by April 12. The terms for the bids also include a change in management.
In March, Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal resigned from the board of directors of the company. The company had said that an interim panel would be set up to handle its affairs, and added that lenders have promised an immediate infusion of Rs 1,500 crore in the airline.
According to reports, Jet Airways’s debts amount to Rs 8,000 crore or more. The airline has not confirmed the debt amount but has said it owes money to banks, pilots and suppliers.
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