Naresh Goyal meets aviation secy over Etihad deal

New Delhi: Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal today met Civil Aviation Secretary K N Shrivastava apparently to clear the air on proposed deal with Etihad Airways amid reports that his plans to offload a minority stake to the Abu Dhabi-based carrier is on the verge of collapse.

Goyal during his meeting is understood to have informed the top official that the proposed deal is “very much on track” and the airline will approach the ministry with a proposal in this regard as soon as the negotiations are concluded, sources said.

Goyal is also understood to have told Shrivastava that the carrier is in the process of finalising some new routes and will accordingly seek the governments nod to operate on those routes.

Both the airlines have since denied that the deal has run into rough weather. The Etihad board is likely to meet on 22 March to take a final call on the deal on picking up a stake in Jet.

Earlier reports suggested that the deal was likely to be called off in the absence of a bilateral investment protection agreement between India and Abu Dhabi, and that Etihad had reportedly sought such a clause as a pre-condition for its investment in Jet.

The deal was expected to be announced last month, but Etihad Chairman Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahayan had told media that there were certain issues to be dealt with before signing an agreement with Jet, leading to the uncertainty.

PTI