JET OWNER MUST APPLY FOR FRESH AIRPORT SLOTS, SAY AUTHORITIES
NEW DELHI: The new owners of Jet Airways (India) Ltd will have to apply afresh for airport slots that were taken away from it when the airline was grounded in April 2019, aviation authorities told a bankruptcy court on Wednesday.
No slots are immediately available, but the application will be considered when it is submitted, lawyers representing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the ministry of civil aviation (MOCA) informed the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The winning bid for Jet Airways submitted by a consortium of London-based asset management firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan is currently before the bankruptcy court.
Lawyers representing the consortium had earlier insisted that DGCA and the aviation ministry must follow the principle of historicity and grant slots to the revived Jet Airways.
In an interview with Mint, Jalan had earlier said that the ministry had assured the consortium that whatever slot is required will be made available.
The two judge-bench headed by Janab Mohammed Ajmal and V. Nallasenapathy on Wednesday directed both DGCA and the ministry to file affidavits on granting slots to Jet Airways. The NCLT will hear the matter next on March 3.
In October 2020, a committee of creditors (COC) of Jet Airways had approved the revival plan submitted by the Kalrock-jalan consortium. The consortium has proposed to invest ₹600 crore in the first two years in the grounded airline to repay creditors and acquire an 89.79% stake in the carrier.
The consortium has proposed to invest ₹475 crore in the first two years and ₹125 crore by selling existing non-core assets like realty and luxury cars by the end of the first year. It has also proposed to pay ₹131 crore, ₹193 crore, and ₹259 crore at the end of the third, fourth and fifth year, respectively, to financial creditors from the airline’s cash flows.
Overall, the consortium hopes to repay ₹1,183 crore to creditors over five years, which would include collections from asset sale proceeds and cash flows.