The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has cleared the Kalrock-Jalan plan to revive Jet Airways, while rejecting the consortium’s demand for historicity of airport slots. The Naresh Goyal-founded airline was shut down in April 2019 under heavy debt.
The tribunal order comes exactly two years after the start of the insolvency proceedings. Jet is the first airline to see resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Even as the order paves the way for the grounded airline’s revival, the resumption of operations hinges on negotiations between the consortium and the government on the issue of airport slots. “The NCLT approval will be valid for 90 days from today, following which the airline will have to approach the tribunal again for an extension,” said a source. “This is the first airline to get an approved to restart operations under India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,” the source added. Jet Airways collapsed under a mountain of debt in April 2019. After two unsuccessful bidding rounds, the Kalrock-Jalan consortium was selected by a committee of creditors last October with over 99 per cent vote to restart the airline. Jalan is a Dubai-based NRI businessman and Kalrock Capital is a financial advisory and asset management company.
