New Delhi/Mumbai, Jet Airways has suspended 12 international flights even as it grapples with a reduced fleet strength, industry insiders said on Friday.
Sources said the airline has suspended operations to Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Dammam, Singapore, Manchester and Dhaka, among others, till April 30.
However, one service has been cancelled due to Pakistan airspace closure and not due to fleet truncation.
“Apart from suspensions, the airline has also reduced frequencies on some of the international routes. These suspensions and reduction in freqiuncies can be attributed to the fact that its fleet size has been trnucated,” sources said.
On March 19, aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said that Jet Airways has only 41 aircraft in its fleet for operations out of around 120 planes and that there may be further attrition in the fleet size and flights ahead.
As per industry estimates, Jet has total debt of Rs 8,000 crore in addition to payables such as vendors’ dues worth Rs 15,000 crore.
The airline has also lost ground in terms of market shares, even as its pilots and crew are said to be approaching other airlines for employment.
