The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday approved the resolution plan of Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan to revive the grounded airline Jet Airways.
The NCLT has given 90 days to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to allot slots to the airline. The decision marks the first step in what could be the return of India’s oldest and largest private airline. Following the NCLT’s approval, shares of Jet Airways hit the 5 per cent upper circuit on the National Stock Exchange.
As per the NCLT order, the DGCA will take the final decision on the allotment of slots to the airline.
According to officials, DGCA and MoCA will examine the order. “The historicity of slots has not been approved. The slot allotment may take some time,” he adds.
As per the resolution plan, the successful bidder has proposed a total cash flow of Rs 1,375 crore for the revival of the company. The revival plan envisages starting operation with 30 aircraft within six months from the approval of the plan by NCLT. The bid by the consortium of Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan was approved by the Committee of Creditors in October last year. Kalrock Capital is a UK-based asset management company and Murari Lal Jalan is a UAE-based entrepreneur.
Though in a joint affidavit to the tribunal, DGCA and MoCA had submitted that Jet Airways does not qualify for grant of slots on the basis of historic precedence and the allocation will be based on ‘Slot Allocation Guidelines’.