Ministry not to allocate Jet’s foreign slots permanently

NEW DELHI: With no new owner on the horizon for Jet Airways, airlines have asked the government to allocate the grounded carrier’s foreign-flying rights to them permanently instead of awarding them for a limited period. But a senior aviation ministry official said no such decision was likely for now.

“Almost all the private airlines feel that these rights should be allocated to them permanently, as chances of Jet Airways’ revival is bleak. We cannot do that because the company law tribunal has asked us to preserve the rights of Jet Airways till the process to look for new owners of Jet Airways is on,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

The aviation ministry has extended the foreign flying rights awarded to all airlines by three months till end-December, as the process to find a buyer for Jet Airways is ongoing.


The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has accepted claims of about Rs 12,000 crore out of Rs 30,000-crore dues that the airline’s vendors had sought for. Scrutiny for another Rs 6,000 crore is under process.

After the grounding of Jet Airways in April, the government decided to distribute all its domestic slots at airports and foreign flying rights to other Indian carriers.