Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) is set to lose its air operator's certificate (AOC), with the current licence having lapsed on May 19, 2023, and the airline reportedly making no moves to extend it. India's Financial Express reports renewal requests are typically made 30 days before the licence expires, and this has not occurred. The Indian business daily suggests this means "JKC’s plan to run Jet is as good as buried."

JKC, or the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, was approved to buy the insolvent airline in mid-2021, with the consortium agreeing to put fresh equity into the airline and pay a portion of the outstanding debts. However, ongoing disputes with creditors have stalled the purchase process. These disputes centre on payment obligations and timelines, with the consortium needing a so far unforthcoming release certificate signed by creditors to finalise the acquisition and relaunch the airline. Jet Airways stopped flying in April 2019 after it was unable to secure emergency funding of INR4 billion Indian rupees (USD48.4 million).

Holding a valid AOC enabled Jet Airways to restart operations. When it re-gained a 12-month licence last May, then CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor said he hoped to restart flights in the latter half of 2022. Last month, Kapoor resigned. It has now emerged Kapoor has taken up a role with Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) where he will be an advisor to Ibrahim Al-Omar, the director general of the airline.

The Tribune newspaper is now reporting that P.P. Singh, vice-president of operations; Neeraj Manchanda, company secretary; Mark Turner, vice-president of in-flight services; Nakul Tuteja, vice-president of human resources and administration; H.R. Jagannath, vice-president of engineering; and Ronit Baugh, head of communications, have all also resigned.

Meanwhile, a six-month time limit to make good on a payment of INR1.85 billion (USD22.4 million) to creditors also expired on May 14. There is no word from either camp that any payment was made. In January, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered the payment with the defined timeframe. In exchange, the creditors would be required to issue the release certificate. In early May, Jet Airways filed another petition with the NCLT against creditors the State Bank of India, the Punjab National Bank, JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction (which acquired so-called "bad assets" from Jet Airways before its collapse), and Ashish Chhawchharia, the independent resolution professional on the Jet Airways management committee. A hearing is scheduled on June 6.

Separately, this week Jet Airways also reported a loss of INR540 million (USD6.5 million) for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2023, while its revenues for the quarter were INR124 million (USD1.5 million).