Jet Airways requests aviation ministry not to give away its international flying rights to other Indian carriers

The grounded carrier Jet Airways has reportedly requested the aviation ministry not to give away its international flying rights to other Indian carriers, a media report said. Jet Airways officials, according to The Times of India, told the ministry that giving away international flying rights could impair the airline’s chance of successfully finding a buyer. The newspaper report added that rival SpiceJet is now planning to take up to 40 of ex-Jet B737s by June-end. “It is just a matter of 10 to 15 days, please don’t give Jet’s international flying rights till the sale process is decided,” The Telegraph quoted the airline as saying. The airline requested the ministry not to allocate flying rights to any airline, whether on permanent or temporary basis. [caption id=“attachment_6477781” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Jet Airways aircraft parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Reuters[/caption] On Tuesday, allaying apprehensions of the grounded carrier on its vacant slots, the aviation ministry said they were being allocated to other airlines purely on “temporary basis” and once the airline resumes operations, these slots would be returned. The ministry also assured Jet of “protecting” its historic slots as per the applicable norms and regulations. The SBI-led consortium of lenders and Jet Airways employees unions had on Monday urged the government to secure its international landing slots to protect its valuation. “To reduce the inconvenience of passengers and facilitate induction of additional capacity, it has been decided to allot some of the slots vacated by Jet to other airlines purely on a temporary basis, for a period of three months,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The abrupt temporary closure of Jet due to cash crunch last Wednesday left thousands of passengers in the lurch, forcing the ministry to allot some of the slots across domestic and international airports to other local carriers in a bid to help mitigate the inconvenience. The crisis at Jet Airways has caused inconvenience to many air passengers and the ministry is seized of the matter, it said, adding the decision to allot vacant slots to other carriers has been taken to reduce the inconvenience of passengers and facilitate induction of additional capacity. “The historic rights of Jet Airways, as per extent ministry guidelines for slot allocation will be protected. These slots will be made available to Jet as and when they revive their operations,” the ministry said. With PTI inputs