Jet Airways was grounded in April 2019 due to lack of funds and insolvency proceedings against it began in June of the same year.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has issued the final revival order for Jet Airways, the carrier which was grounded in 2019 due to strained financial condition. As per the revival order, operating slots would be allotted to the airline in accordance to the the existing norms, and not on the basis of historic rights.
“The Resolution Plan submitted by consortium of Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch is hereby approved. It shall become effective from this date and shall form part of this order,” the NCLT said, adding that its order would be binding upon all stakeholders, including the central and state governments.
The rescue plan was presented last year jointly by Florian Fritsch-headed Kalrock Capital Management Ltd, a London-based financial advisory and Murari Lal Jalan, a Dubai-based businessman. It was approved on June 22 by the NCLT.
The Jalan-Kalrock consortium is believed to have offered Rs 1,183 crore in the form of repayment to financial creditors, employees and staff of Jet Airways, over a period of five years, CNBC TV-18 had reported.
“The window period of future credit to passengers and employees and workmen shall be one year from the effective date. The beneficiaries shall however, get themselves registered within 180 days from the effective date to avail the facility,” the NCLT order said.
On the allotment of slots, the Tribunal indicated that the existing norms would be followed. Jet Airways would not be re-allotted its slots based on the historic rights.
“The facts and circumstances would indicate that presently the slots cannot be restored to the Corporate Debtor on a historic basis. The thumb rule being ‘use it or lose it’. Be that as it may, we must remember that running an Airline, much less reviving one, is not a facile business. It involves entire gamut of complex and diverse activities from land to sky and everything in between,” the order said.
In a recent affidavit submitted to the bankruptcy court, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Jet Airways could not not claim historicity to obtain the slots and that allocation of slots would be done in accordance with the existing guidelines.
The NCLT also noted that the MCA and DGCA will decide on the application of “renewal/grant of Airport Operating Permit”.
Also Read | Seven-member monitoring panel to manage Jet Airways under resolution plan
As per the terms of the approved resolution plan, a seven-member monitoring committee is required to be constituted. Three members each would be appointed by the consortium and the financial creditors, respectively. Also, there would be an “independent insolvency professional appointed by the financial creditors (preferably the existing resolution professional),” in the panel, as per the filing. The committee would supervise the implementation of the resolution plan.
Notably, Jet Airways, full-service carrier, suspended operations in April 2019 and was undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process since then. The airline, in its heyday, operated a fleet of more than 120 planes connecting dozens of Indian cities, along with major international hubs including Dubai, London and Singapore.
