Distressed airline Jet Airways has grounded four more aircraft, taking the total count of planes taken off service to about 60. The airline has a fleet of 123 aircraft.
The announcement followed just a minute after it said it will default on interest payment due to a debenture holder on March 19. This is the third default by the company on its debt repayments, highlighting its inability to also repay its lessors.
On aircraft grounding, the company in a statement to the BSE, said the aircraft have been grounded "due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements."
The airline, however, didn't provide details on the total number of grounded aircraft.
On March 11, PTI had reported that Chairman Naresh Goyal had written to Etihad Airways, citing grounding of 50 of its aircraft, and had asked for urgent funding.
Etihad owns 24 percent stake in Jet Airways.
The airline in the report said it is in talks with the lessors "and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken by the company to improve its liquidity."
But patience among its lessors may be thinning out, with reports saying that some of Jet Airways' aircraft may find their way to the fleet of SpiceJet. The airline has been looking to add more planes ever since its 12 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft were grounded after the Ethiopian Airlines crash earlier this month.
This is Jet Airways' seventh announcement this month on aircraft grounding, and reflects its increasingly precarious situation. The company has a debt of over Rs 8,000 crore, and has payments of up to Rs 1,700 crore due by March-end.
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