Jet Airways resolution professional seeks 90 days extension for bids from NCLT

Mumbai: Jet Airways’ resolution professional on Friday filed an application in National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking 90 days extension for the corporate insolvency resolution process of the defunct carrier. On Thursday, the lenders to Jet Airways decided to seek an extension after it failed to attract any potential bidder. The tribunal, comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma, will hear the matter next week. [caption id=“attachment_4883531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The committee of creditors (CoC) had on 18 February set the new deadline of 10 March for submission of bids for the grounded airline after South American conglomerate Synergy Group and New Delhi-based Prudent ARC failed to meet the deadline. According to sources, Synergy Group had backed out of the bidding process over the slot issues. The 10 March deadline was set after Russia’s Far East Asia Development Fund evinced interest in Jet Airways. Against this backdrop, the CoC extended the deadline for submission of bids to 10 March. The cash-strapped airline, which was grounded in April 2019, owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, with those from the public sector having significant exposure. NCLT on 20 June, 2019, had admitted the insolvency petition filed by the lenders’ consortium led by State Bank of India against Jet Airways. The tribunal also appointed Ashish Chhauchharia of Grant Thornton as the resolution professional for the crippled airline.