Jet Airways collapse was a reflection of challenging environment in India: IATA

The collapse of Jet Airways was a reflection of the challenging environment in the country, including high operating costs and a regulatory regime that restricts the ability of airlines to operate as normal commercial businesses, according to the IATA.

The full-service carrier, which flew for nearly 26 years, suspended flights on April 17 last year after running out of cash for its daily operations.

Apart from creating a significant capacity shortage in the country's aviation sector, the grounding of the airline impacted thousands of jobs.

"The collapse of Jet Airways was a reflection of the challenging environment in India – high operating costs, including infrastructure and fuel, a highly competitive domestic airline market, and a regulatory regime that restricts the ability of airlines to operate as normal commercial businesses," Albert Tjoeng, Assistant Director for Corporate Communications (Asia Pacific) at IATA, said.

His comments came in response to queries from PTI related to Jet Airways completing one year of closure.

Jet Airways was a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Currently, it has around 290 airlines as members.

Undergoing the insolvency resolution process at present, a concrete bid is yet to be submitted for Jet Airways even though some entities had expressed interest in the airline.

Shares of Jet Airways have plunged 88 per cent since suspending operations in April last year.

According to Albert Tjoeng, a lot has happened in the last one year.

"Airlines globally are now facing an existential crisis as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. We are now expecting a revenue loss of USD 314 billion and passenger demand to fall by 48 per cent compared to 2019. Airlines are facing a liquidity crisis, burning USD 61 billion of their cash reserves in Q2 2020," he said.