India’s second largest airline, 25-year-old Jet Airways, has missed an interest payment to its bankers.
The loss-making airline said the payment, due on December 31, has been delayed ‘due to a temporary cashflow mismatch’.
The airline, which has not made a profit for nine of the past 11 fiscal years, denied last August that it was weeks away from running out of cash.
It is not known how large its missed payment was, but it is understood to be due to a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India.
The airline, which reported a third consecutive quarterly loss in November, also owes money to staff and lessors.
It has recently undergone a safety audit by the authorities to ensure that its recent cost-cutting initiatives and financial crisis don’t reduce safety standards.
The airline is understood to be talking to its foreign equity partner Etihad Airways and several inventors to find ways to raise cash, while also approaching the State Bank of India for a short-term loan.
