After weathering two years of uncertainty, Jet Airways (India) Ltd. has finally seen a resolution.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has approved the resolution plan submitted by a consortium led by Dubai-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital.
But the plan has been approved with the caveat that determination of landing slots will be done by the appropriate authority, that is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Historic rights over landing slots won’t be available to Jet Airways but a request is being made to the government to see that the plan doesn’t get frustrated because of its obduration, the tribunal said.
The successful resolution applicant, Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock Capital, have been given 90 days to approach the DGCA on the issue of allocation of slots, after which they’ll have to approach the NCLT for further directions.
Insolvency proceedings against Jet Airways were initiated in June 2019. Along with the usual hurdles that come with most IBC cases, the carrier had a unique problem — the issue of landing slots. A landing slot is a permission given to a particular airline to use the full range of airport infrastructure necessary for arrival and departure.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had argued before the NCLT that Jet Airways cannot claim any historical right over the landing slots which were allotted to it before the carrier shuttered operations.
The airline owes financial creditors Rs 7,453 crore and operational creditors more than Rs 6,658 crore, according to its website.
BloombergQuint had reported earlier that lenders will be paid up to Rs 1,000 crore over five years through non-convertible debentures. Kalrock Capital will also provide Rs 900-1,000 crore in working capital to the ailing airline. And the financial creditors are likely to get a 10% equity stake in Jet Airways.
