The Civil Aviation Authority has issued advice for Jet Airways’ passengers after India’s largest privately-owned airline announced it had grounded all domestic and international flights.
The troubled carrier said on Thursday afternoon that it had temporarily suspended operations after failing to find fresh funding.
It said it hoped to start flying again soon, however, experts say hopes are fading fast as the airline’s share price plummeted and rivals rushed to fill the supply gap.
Shares fell 34% after the announcement and the airline’s ‘value is dwindling with each passing day’. Shukor Yusof, head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, told Associated Press.
“Rivals are looting available slots because of Jet’s shutdown,” Edelweiss Securities analyst Vijayant Gupta told Reuters.
Jet Airways had already extended its suspension of all international flights, including those from London and Manchester, until next Monday.
The CAA said passengers who had booked Jet Airways’ flights through another airline as part of a codeshare should contact the codeshare airline to see what alternative arrangements they have made.
Those who have booked Jet Airways’ flights as part of an ATOL-protected package are entitled to alternative flights or a full refund and the travel firm is responsible for making arrangements to fly home anyone who is already abroad. The CAA said passengers should contact the ATOL holder direct to find out what arrangements they have made.
The CAA is advising customers who booked via a travel agent to contact their agent in the first instance.
Passengers who booked direct with Jet Airways might be able to claim on their travel insurance if it includes over scheduled airline failure (SAFI) or they might be able to protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if they paid by credit card. Those who paid by debit card might be able to claim a charge back via their bank.
Jet Airways has a $1.2 billion (£900 million) debt and has been in talks with lenders for weeks. The Indian government had asked state-run banks to step in with a bailout plans for the airline, whose founder and chairman Naresh Goyal stepped down last month.
Pilots, engineers, and ground staff have not been paid for months, and passengers have been left stranded around the world as a result of cancellations.
“Late last night, Jet Airways was informed by the State Bank of India , on behalf of the consortium of Indian lenders, that they are unable to consider its request for critical interim funding,” the airline said on Thursday.
“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. Consequently, with immediate effect, Jet Airways is compelled to cancel all its international and domestic flights. The last flight will operate today,” it added.
Etihad Airways, which owns 24% of Jet Airways, is reported to have expressed an interest in taking more control, although it had earlier refused to pump more money into the carrier.
Rory Boland, travel editor at Which? said: “Passengers will quite rightly be outraged that yet another airline headed for collapse was able to sell tickets to unwitting customers right up to the moment it grounded its planes; once again leaving holiday and travel plans in tatters and passengers out of pocket.”
