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Jet Airways employees hold placards as they gather to make an appeal to save the airline after it announced temporary suspension of flight operations, in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI)[/caption]
Mumbai, April 18 (PTI): The officers and employees union of the grounded Jet Airways on Thursday sought government intervention to avert a Kingfisher-like collapse of the carrier, which could not take off after halting operations temporarily in October 2012.
Alleging some "motives" behind the series of developments at the carrier, which eventually forced it to shutter services temporarily from Wednesday night, Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association president Kiran Pawaskar also demanded a probe, preferably by the national investigation agency CBI.
After flying for over 25 years, Jet Airways was grounded last night when its final flight, a Boeing 737, touched down at the Mumbai airport early Thursday after departing from Amritsar.
The country's oldest private airline flew its maiden flight nearly 26 years ago from the city airport to Ahmedabad as an air taxi operator.
"The situation is very bad for employees. As many as 16,000 permanent employees don't have work today. I told the management that efforts should be made to resume operations as early as possible," Pawaskar, who is also an NCP lawmaker, said asking why the airline did not clear employees dues before suspending services.
Airlines' chief executive Vinay Dube had Wednesday said the airline did not have an "answer" at present on the fate of its employees during the on-going stake sale process.
The airline senior management, pilots and engineers have not be been paid since January while the other categories of employees have also not received their March salaries.
"Employees are ready to work. They are experts at what they do because they have been working for 25 years. We are not going to run away. We will remain here," Pawaskar said.
He said the SBI-led consortium, which now the controls the management, can resume operations after requesting the Prime Minister's Office or finance ministry for the required funds.
The consortium had rejected the airline's appeal for INR 983 crore lifeline, of which INR 240 alone were to be used to disburse the pending salaries, Pawaskar added.
He also asked why banks have not cleared the promised INR 1,500 core loan to the airline even two weeks after chairman Naresh Goyal stepped down from the airline two weeks ago--the main condition of the lenders to lend more money.
He also said none of the jobs are lost so far and that the employees will continue to claim salaries as long as they are with Jet Airways.
HC refuses to intervene
The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to intervene in the Jet Airways crisis, saying it cannot direct the government and the Reserve Bank of India to rescue a "sick company".
A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar dismissed a writ petition seeking the government and the central bank be asked to direct the consortium of banks help the cash-starved airline, which was grounded from Wednesday indefinitely.
Jet Airways' last flight landed at the city airport past midnight from Amritsar and became the seventh carrier to shutter operations in the past five years.
The over 25-year-old airline had sought a Rs 400-crore emergency fund from its lenders to whom it already owes over INR 8,500 crore, but was refused as the airline was not ready to offer more collaterals.
The writ petition, filed by advocate Mathew Nedumpara, sought among other things a direction to the government and the RBI to ensure that the airline resumes operations till a potential investor was identified.
SBI-led banks had invited bids for selling anywhere between 31 and 75 per cent stake in the airline and have already received four initial bids from Jet Airways' foreign partner Etihad Airways, the sovereign wealth fund NIIF, and two private equity funds--TPG Capital and Indigo Partners.
Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who along with his wife Anita were forced out of the airline late last month by the banks, had also put in bids, but was asked to withdraw after the four bidders threatened to walk out. The banks hope to complete the sale process by May 10.