Jet Airways resurrection in doubt as Boeing 777 is sold for just £6.5m

The Indian airline Jet Airways stopped flying in April 2019 after running out of cash

Going nowhere: Jet Airways Boeing 777 (Siracusa Productions, Inc.)

Attempts by backers of Jet Airways to relaunch the Indian airline have hit problems after a bank launched legal action against the company.

Jet Airways stopped flying in April 2019 after making large financial losses, wrecking the travel plans of millions of passengers – including many booked on its flagship link between London Heathrow and Mumbai.

A consortium comprising an Anglo-Swiss venture capital fund, Kalrock, and a UAE-based investor, Murari Lal Jalan, is seeking to revive Jet Airways and start flying again early next year.

But the Punjab National Bank, one of many creditors who lost money in the collapse, is challenging the plan – saying it is owed more than $100m (£73m).

Jet Airways also faces claims from trade unions over unpaid salaries and pensions.

Meanwhile, one of its planes has been sold by Dutch liquidators for a fraction of its original cost. The Boeing 777-300ER wide-bodied jet was impounded at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam because of unpaid debts.

The aircraft has been bought by a Miami-based firm for just $9m (£6.5m).

The list price for new 777s is $375m (£272m), indicating a discount of 98 per cent for the buyer of the 14-year-old aircraft.

The website ch-aviation.com says Jet Airways owns five more of the 777s and four smaller aircraft.

Jet Airways has also had its slots at the Dutch airport confiscated.

The carrier grounded all its international flights on 12 April 2019, when its cash reserves dried up.

Initially Jet Airways led grounded passengers to believe they would be rebooked on other airlines or offered full refunds.

But it soon became clear that these were empty promises. Tens of thousands of UK-based passengers had to pay for new flights from Mumbai and elsewhere in India, often on convoluted routes.

In the wake of the Jet Airways collapse, Virgin Atlantic relaunched its London Heathrow-Mumbai service.

British Airways initially increased its links between Heathrow and Mumbai, but these have been cut back because of the coronavirus pandemic.