Govt awaits DGCA report to take a call on Jet eligibility for International operations as fleet size shrinks to 14

The government is likely to review Jet Airways' eligibility to continue its international operations after it gets a report from the regulator DGCA on the issue, a top ministry official said Thursday. On the verge of going belly up amid acute cash crunch, the airline has reduced its fleet to just 14 planes as of Thursday--way down from 123 planes in operations at the peak. "We have sought for all the details from Jet. The DGCA has asked for the details. After we get those details, we will see to it," aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola told PTI over phone, when asked whether the ministry is planning to review Jet's eligibility to continue its international operations in view of the almost negligible fleet.

Jet Airways, which is currently under the management control of the SBI-led consortium of lenders, has been struggling to carry out operations as most of its fleet are grounded due to payment issues. The government rules stipulate an airline must have at least 20 planes for operating international operations. Of the 14 aircraft that it is operating as of Thursday, eight are wide-body B777s (seven) and an A330-- generally used for long-haul international operations. The remaining six planes are three B737s, which are largely used for flying on domestic routes besides on short-haul international routes and the rest three are regional ATRs.