DGCA approves Jet Airways' summer schedule only till 25 April; other carriers get nod till 26 October

New Delhi: Indian aviation watchdog DGCA has approved the summer schedule of flights of Jet Airways from 31 March to 25 April only, according to an official document. The summer schedule of flights of all other domestic airlines such as Vistara, IndiGo, Air India and GoAir have been approved till 26 October, according to the document. [caption id=“attachment_4317145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The summer schedule begins on 31 March, 2019 for all the airlines. As per the international practice, DGCA approves two flight schedules in a year, namely, ‘summer schedule’ effective from Sunday of the last week of March and ‘winter schedule’ effective from Sunday of the last week of October. A major crisis at the struggling Jet Airways was averted Sunday after its pilots’ body, National Aviator’s Guild (NAG), deferred till 15 April its call for halting operations. The NAG, which claims to represent around 1,100 of the 1,600 Jet Airways pilots, had announced earlier that its members will not fly from 1 April, unless their salary dues were cleared and clarity was provided on future payments by 31 March. On 25 March, Jet Airways’ board approved a resolution plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders. Under the plan, lenders decided to take control of the airline and make a fund infusion of Rs 1,500 crore. Consequently, the stake of promoter Naresh Goyal has come down to 25.5 percent from 51 percent, while that of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, which had a 24 percent stake in the carrier, came down to 12 percent.