Shares of cash-strapped Jet Airways plunge 34pc
MUMBAI: Jet Airways India Ltd, which once ranked as the nation’s biggest airline by market value, plunged in trading, here, after it ran out of money, forcing the carrier to suspend all its flights.
The company took a decision to halt flights on a “temporary” basis from yesterday, according to a statement the previous evening, as the cash-strapped carrier continues to unravel.
Shares fell as much as a record 34 per cent, while the S&P BSE Sensex advanced as much as 0.5 per cent.
“Since no emergency funding from the lenders or any other source is forthcoming, the airline will not be able to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going,” it said.
Jet Airways, which broke the monopoly of state-run Air India Ltd in the early 1990s, has been in decline since a slew of budget airlines started offering ultra-low fares that hurt profits and led it to pile up more than US$1 billion (RM4.16 billion) in debt and dues owed to employees and aircraftleasing firms.
The carrier said it would continue to support a bid process initiated by lenders and that it planned to return to flying “as soon as possible”.
Jet Airways has reported losses for four straight quarters despite sales holding up. Just seven planes were flying on Tuesday, compared with 123 at the end of December last year.
The airline was forced to suspend international flights last week and saw pilots agitate over non-payment of salaries.