Jet's slot allocation to others only 'on temporary basis': Ministry
News lifts Jet Airways shares by nearly 10%
Mumbai: Allaying apprehensions of the grounded carrier Jet Airways on its vacant slots, the aviation ministry Tuesday said they are being allocated to other airlines purely on "temporary basis" and once the airline resumes operations, these slots will 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 Monday urged the government to secure its international landing slots to protect its valuation.
"To reduce 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 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 inconvenience.
The crisis at Jet has caused inconvenience to many air passengers and the ministry is seized of the matter, it said, adding the decision to allot vacant slot 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. It also said a committee has been constituted by government comprising regulator DGCA, the Airports Authority, joint venture/private sector airlines and slot coordinators to ensure that slots are allocated in most equitable and transparent manner. This committee would be allocating slots purely on temporary basis for three months only to those airlines which bring additional capacity (aircraft), the ministry added.
Meanwhile, ending a three-day losing streak, shares of Jet Airways (India) surged nearly 10 per cent at close of trade Tuesday on value-buying at lower levels. The scrip jumped 9.90 per cent to close at Rs 169.90 on the BSE. During the day, it zoomed 12.19 per cent to Rs 173.45.
At the NSE, shares advanced 8.30 per cent to close at Rs 167.55. On the traded volume front, 45.27 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and over four crore shares on the NSE during the day. In the past three days, the scrip plummeted 40.94 per cent. It hit its 52-week low of Rs 132.20 on Monday.
