Mumbai: The employees union of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which is facing its worst crisis, has sought to register first investigation reports (FIRs) against the airline's founder Naresh Goyal, chief executive officer Vinay Dube and SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar for non-payment of March salaries, even as passengers continued to bear the brunt of last-minute cancellations and missing refunds.
Over 200 Jet Airways employees, led by union president and NCP alwmaker Kiran Pawaskar, marched from the Mumbai airport to the airline's headquarters in Siroya Centre, Andheri, to meet CEO Dube.
They, however, were only able to meet some members of the senior management. They then went to the police, seeking to register FIRs against Goyal, Dube and Kumar.
"We have to inform you that Jet has not paid our March salaries of date. We call upon you to register offences for cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds and other offences under relevant sections of the law," Pawaskar, who heads the All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association, said in a police complaint.
Before meeting the management, Pawaskar addressed the employees and blamed the government policies for the downfall of the airline. He also claimed that whatever the little money the airline is earning now is being used to make refunds to the passengers.
Passengers stranded at the Mumbai airport, however, claimed that they are not getting refunds and are being forced to shell out more for last-minute tickets.
"I had a flight to New Delhi this evening, but when I reached the airport I was informed that the flight was cancelled. When I sought the refund, I was told to collect it from my travel agent," said an aggrieved passenger.
The employee protests aside, Friday marked yet another day of hightened crisis at the airline. Jet Airways has suspended all its international flights till 15 April even as the the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) called an urgent meeting to resolve the situation at the beleaguered airline.
Jet Airways is currently operating only 11 out of the 123 planes it had in operation before the financial crisis struck about six months ago. Since February, lessors have grounded close to 90 aircraft over non-payment of dues, forcing closure of the airline's operations in eastern and northeastern regions of the country.
On Friday, Jet Airways shares rose 0.02% to ₹260.45 apiece on the BSE while the benchmark Sensex gained 0.41% to end the day at 38,767.11
