Kalrock-Jalan consortium starts work to fly crisis-hit Jet Airways again

Jet suspended operation in April 2019 & its permit is not valid

The Kalrock-Jalan consortium is putting together a team of key executives in engineering and operations for recertification of Jet Airways’ operating permit.

Jet suspended operations in April 2019 and its operating permit is no longer valid. 

The airline’s new management will have to appoint key executives in engineering, flight safety, operations and security. It will have to update all operations manuals and undergo a regulatory audit before securing permission to start operations.

Security clearance of new board members and vetting of shareholding would also be done by the government to ensure that effective control rests with the Indian promoters.

The consortium has shortlisted Sudhir Gaur, former head of Jet Airways operations and training, and a few other executives in senior operational roles. Gaur has been working with Nepal Airlines following the closure of Jet. With the passing of the resolution plan, the insolvency process of Jet has come to an end. Now, a monitoring committee, comprising representatives of banks, the consortium and resolution professional Ashish Chhawchharia will oversee the functioning of the company for the next 90 days.

While the consortium will be responsible for negotiations with airports and suppliers, the committee will function as a quasi-board and look after all corporate actions and compliances.

The new board of the airline will take over on the effective date which has been set at 90 days from the passing of Tuesday’s order. The consortium will also have to pay a performance bank guarantee of around Rs 100 crore and meet other conditions.

When Jet Airways shut down in 2019, it had around 9,000 employees. Currently, it has over 3,000 staff members, including 175 in the asset preservation team. These comprise engineers, technicians and senior executives, including chief strategy officer Rajesh Prasad and legal head Gautam Acharya, among others. They have been working closely with the resolution professional for the revival of the airline.

As a part of the resolution plan, the consortium has proposed to transfer employees to a ground handling subsidiary called AGSL and retain only around 50 staff members in the airline. The employees will also get 0.5 per cent stake in the airline, according to the plan. The tribunal ruling on these matters is not yet known.

“We, the employees, have been waiting in good faith for over two years. We are eagerly looking forward to flying the Jet colours again soon and the commencement of training will be the first step in that direction,” said Captain Sonica Chhabra, who has been with the airline since Day One.