Etihad Airways submits binding bid for Jet Airways: TV reports

Etihad Airways has submitted a binding bid—the only one—for Jet Airways, CNBC-TV18 reported on Friday.

Jet, once India's largest private airline, stopped all flights on April 17 after its lenders, led by State Bank of India, declined to extend more funds to keep the carrier going.

SBI has invited binding bids for a stake in the airline that is saddled with roughly $1.2 billion in bank debt. Once India's largest private airline, Jet stopped all flights from April 17 after its lenders, led by SBI, refused to extend more funds to keep the carrier flying.

Jet, which also owes vast sums to its lessors, pilots, fuel suppliers and other parties, was crippled by mounting losses as it tried to compete with low-cost rivals. All binding bids are to be submitted by 1800 IST on Friday.

The SBI announcement comes as Jet's offices are being vacated at many airports across the country and employee access is being revoked.

"At Kolkata, staff have been asked to remove all personal belongings and at Chennai, boards outside Jet offices have been removed," a Jet employee told Reuters.

If a deal for Jet fails to materialise, the airline could be dragged into bankruptcy by creditors, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

(With inputs from Reuters)