Jet Airways crisis: Fresh expressions of interest invited for defunct airline

Mumbai: Jet Airways insolvency resolution professional on Wednesday invited fresh expressions of interest (EoI) for the grounded airline. This is the fourth time that EoI has been invited for Jet Airways, which was shuttered last year.

The last date for submission of bid documents is May 28 and the final list of prospective resolution applicants will be issued on June 10, as per a public document. The decision for issuing fresh EoI was taken during the committee of creditors (CoC) meeting held recently.

Last week, the CoC had met to discuss the way forward for the airline. It was the 11th meeting of the CoC.

In March this year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had allowed 90 days' extension for the corporate insolvency resolution process of the airline.

This came after the airline's resolution professional had filed an application in NCLT seeking 90 days' extension for the insolvency process after it failed to attract any bidder.

The CoC on February 18, had set a new deadline of March 10 for submission of bids for the grounded airline after South American conglomerate Synergy Group and New Delhi-based Prudent ARC failed to meet the previous deadline.

Later, Synergy Group backed out of the bidding process over slot issues. The March 10 deadline was set after Russia's Far East Asia Development Fund also evinced interest in Jet Airways.

The cash-strapped airline, which was grounded in April 2019, owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, with public sector lenders having significant exposure.

The NCLT on June 20, 2019, admitted the insolvency petition filed by the lenders' consortium led by State Bank of India against Jet Airways. The bankruptcy court had appointed Ashish Chhawchharia as RP.

Jet Airways has liabilities over Rs 26,000 crore, which include over Rs 10,000 crore of vendor dues, Rs 8,500 crore along with interest owed to the lenders, over Rs 3,000 crore in salary dues, and over Rs 13,500 crore in accumulated losses over the past few years.