Jet Airways pilots' union moves Supreme Court seeking release of interim funds from SBI

Jet Airways’ pilots’ union has appealed to the Supreme Court to direct state lender, State Bank Of India, to release interim funding to the grounded airline, according to a court filing made on Tuesday which was reviewed by Reuters. Embattled Jet halted all flight operations indefinitely on 17 April after its lenders rejected its plea for emergency funds, potentially bringing the curtains down on what was once India’s largest private airline. The bidding process for the airline is underway with final bidders expected to be known on 10 May. The union has also asked the Supreme Court to direct the civil aviation ministry and aviation regulator to decline any de-registration requests of Jet’s aircraft and not re-allocate its slots to other airlines permanently, according to the filing. [caption id=“attachment_6541301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Jet Airways employees. Reuters[/caption] The National Aviator’s Guild said in its petition that SBI’s decision to not give the interim funding of 15 billion rupees, after previously agreeing to it under a resolution plan, has resulted in the airline being grounded and has impacted the livelihood of Jet’s 22,000 employees. On Sunday, as Jet Airways turned 26, hundreds of employees gathered at the airport in New Delhi continuing with their pleas for saving the carrier. Employees in their uniforms displayed placards, with messages such as ‘Save Jet Airways Save our future’. Since the temporary suspension of operations, airline employees have been organising gatherings at various places across the country. With agency inputs