Jet Airways staff take out silent protest march at IGI airport

The employees of crisis-ridden Jet Airways took out a silent protest march demanding the payment of their dues outside the IGI airport`s Terminal 3, here on Saturday. The Jet employees organised the "Save Jet Airways Human Chain" and took out a peaceful, silent march outside Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. 

The employees also demanded to know the future course of action to revive the debt-ridden airline. At present, the company is trying to secure interim funding from lenders to sustain its current level of operations. Senior Jet officials told the employees in Mumbai on Friday that they will be paid first from the funds that the company receives. 

The March salaries of all the employees have been deferred, while the pilots, along with the engineers, have not been paid since January 1.  The development came on a day when the airline operated only 7 aircraft on domestic routes due to grounding of over 80 per cent of its fleet by lessors, which has resulted in the cancellation of several daily flights, inconveniencing scores of passengers at various airports. 

Jet`s woes assume criticality as the airline that once operated around 120 aircraft is now left with just 16 planes in its fleet.  Currently, the airline owes over Rs 8,000 crore to a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI). It has also suspended international operations till Monday afternoon. 

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The only hope for the airline now lies with an immediate dose of interim funding and the completion of the stake sale process initiated by the lenders.  Speculation is rife that Jet`s ex-Chairman Naresh Goyal and six other parties have expressed their interests in the stake sale process.