Revival plan hits a hurdle: Jet Airways CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor quits

He had joined the airline as the Chief Executive Officer in April last year. The source said that Friday was the last working day for Kapoor at the airline

A little over a year after coming on board to revive Jet Airways, the airline's CEO-Designate Sanjiv Kapoor has put in his papers.

A source said that Kapoor's last working day at the grounded airline was Friday.

The once-storied carrier stopped flying in April 2019 and later the Jalan-Kalrock consortium emerged as the winning bidder through an insolvency resolution process, but the ownership transfer is yet to happen.

Kapoor joined the airline as the Chief Executive Officer in April last year.

There was no immediate comment from Kapoor.

Amid continuing uncertainties, many senior executives have quit the airline in recent months.

On March 20, Kapoor said the new management does not want to be "in a rush" to restart the operations of Jet Airways.

Speaking at a conference in the national capital, he had also said the journey is a marathon, and not a sprint.

Amid continuing differences between the lenders and the consortium, the ownership of the airline is yet to be transferred to the winning bidder.

Against this backdrop, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, on January 2, said Kapoor will remain the CEO-designate of the company till the airline's ownership is transferred to the consortium by the lenders.

The airline's air operator certificate was revalidated by aviation safety regulator DGCA in May 2022, following which it announced its plans to recommence operations in September 2022, but the relaunch was delayed.

Prior to joining of Kapoor, Sudhir Gaur had quit as the interim CEO of Jet Airways.

In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the consortium of Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan and the UK's Kalrock Capital. In June 2021, the consortium's bid was approved under the insolvency resolution process.

In January this year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the transfer of ownership of bankrupt Jet Airways to the Jalan Kalrock consortium and gave the winning bidder more time to pay the dues to the creditors.

The rulings had come on two petitions filed by the consortium. One plea pertained to the approval of the transfer of ownership, and the second one related to an extension of time for the payment of dues to the creditors.