Delhi High Court issues notice to Jet Airways over full refund of airfare to passengers affected by suspension of services: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the cash-strapped Jet Airways in a plea seeking a full refund of airfare to passengers who were affected by the suspension of flight services. The court also sought a reply from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation in this regard. Next date of hearing is July 16, 2019, the ANI reported. A bench of Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice AJ Bhambhani were hearing the PIL filed by activist Bejon Kumar Misra.
Unprecedented grounding of Jet Airways hit budget travellers the most after the airliner temporarily suspended all flight operations on April 17, 2019, as it failed to get Rs 400 crore emergency funding from its lenders. The last flight of the airline took off at 10:20 pm on April 17. After facing pressure from the lenders, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and along with his wife Anita Goyal resigned from the board of directors on March 25, 2019.
While announcing the suspension of flight operations, Jet Airways had said that after no funding from the lenders came, the airline would not be able to pay for fuel or other services to keep the operation going. The airline informed that it is compelled to cancel all the domestic and international flights. The airliner also maintained that the company tried every means possible to seek both interim and long-term funding, adding that the airline was left with no other choice but to temporarily suspend flight operations.
Reports said the Jet Airways was in talks with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to clear some refunds from the money still saved in the billing and settlement plan (BSP) account.
A senior technician of the cash-strapped Jet Airways ended his life in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Friday. According to police, Shailesh Singh (45) committed suicide after jumping off the multi-storeyed building as he was suffering from cancer and was facing severe financial constraints. Singh was one of the employees of the grounded airline who are yet to get salaries from the last many months.
The deceased has left behind his wife, two sons and two daughters. Singh’s son is also working in the operations department of Jet Airways. Police have registered a case of accidental death and launched an investigation into the incident.
Reports said Vistara has hired almost 100 pilots and 450 cabin crew members of the debt-ridden Jet Airways. The Tata Group-Singapore alliance joint- venture is also planning to induct some of Jet’s aircraft.
