Slot allotment issue to be resolved soon: Jet Airways' stakeholders to NCLT

In the ongoing Jet Airways resolution case, the civil aviation ministry, regulator DGCA and winning bidder Jalan-Kalrock consortium on Monday informed the NCLT that the issue of allotment of slots to the airline is expected to be resolved soon.

The matter will be again heard by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in the third week of April.

Jet Airways, which shuttered operations in April 2019, is undergoing a resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The counsels representing the ministry, DGCA and the Jalan-Kalrock consortium told the Mumbai bench of the NCLT that they are optimistic about an amicable resolution of the issue of historical slots soon.

According to them, there were two meetings held between the winning bidders for Jet Airways -- UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and UK-based Kalrock Capital -- with the ministry and DGCA over the slot allotment issue.

The NCLT bench, chaired by Mohammed Ajmal and V Nallasenapathy, will hear the matter in the third week of this month.

On March 24, the consortium had sought the tribunal's permission to enter into a dialogue with the ministry and DGCA to resolve the issue of allotment of slots at airports.

The NCLT had stated that it cannot give directions in this regard but said the parties concerned are free to discuss the matter.

The ministry and DGCA had then sought time from the NCLT to deal with the affidavit submitted by the consortium regarding the slot allotment issue.

On Monday, the tribunal was informed that the ministry and DGCA have not filed the affidavit with a view to have further meetings between the officials concerned to resolve the issue.

The ministry and DGCA have appointed a nodal officer to address the issue of slots with the resolution applicant, the consortium.

In a joint affidavit to the NCLT on March 9, the ministry and DGCA had refused to give any assurances on Jet Airways slots issue.

"... slots allocated to the corporate debtor are not the asset of the corporate debtor and hence no mandatory directions in respect of the allocations/ re-allocation of slots may be issued by the tribunal for the mandatory compliance of same by the DGCA/MoCA," as per the affidavit.

The MoCA refers to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

According to the affidavit, any request of the resolution applicant for allocation of slots would be considered as per the existing policy and procedure.