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| Edited By: DNA |Source: DNA |Updated: Jun 19, 2019, 05:45 AM IST
What has been looking inevitable in the past few months has finally happened. After about five months of making 'efforts' to bring investment into the carrier, the lenders decided to refer Jet Airways to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The decision believed to have been taken at the behest of finance ministry may now finally take the carrier off the tarmac, shattering the hopes of thousands of its employees, who were hoping against the hope for its survival.
The long time taken by the banks to take the airline to NCLT and the way the entire process was conducted has also raised many questions. Industry insiders cite it as a textbook example of lenders' bureaucratic and non-serious approach towards handling a highly specialised airline industry.
The development marks a dent to the India aviation growth story, which till a few months ago was amongst the fastest in the world.
The question arises that despite the scorching growth rate why are the well-established airline companies like Kingfisher and Jet Airways are going bust. The answer, according to the stakeholders, lies in the industry's weak structural foundations.
High fuel taxes, overall poor infrastructure, difficulties in financing, lack of future-oriented policies by the government combined with ground touching fares has made things difficult for the airlines. The government now needs to have some serious deliberation with the stakeholders in order to create a healthy environment for airlines to operate and thrive.
