India’s Supreme Court has ordered the liquidation of bankrupt airline Jet Airways, closing a protracted five-year legal process that began after the full-service carrier collapsed in 2019 with over $1.2 billion in debt. The ruling brings an official end to Jet Airways, once the country’s second-largest airline, which ceased operations in 2019 when it ran out of funds, grounding its fleet and entering bankruptcy proceedings.
Initially, a national company law tribunal had sanctioned a transfer of Jet Airways’ ownership to a consortium led by UAE businessman Murari Lal Jalan. However, subsequent lender concerns regarding the resolution process triggered a series of legal appeals.
On Thursday, India’s Supreme Court reversed the ownership transfer, stating the consortium had not fulfilled legal requirements for the acquisition. The court described the takeover attempt as “perverse and unsustainable in law,” instructing a bankruptcy court in Mumbai to commence liquidation procedures to auction the airline’s assets.
Jet Airways’ liquidation underscores the challenges within India’s competitive aviation industry, where several airlines have failed due to high debt burdens, mismanagement, and difficult market conditions. Recently, debt-strapped Go First filed for bankruptcy protection, attributing its fleet groundings to faulty engines from Pratt & Whitney. Another notable failure was Kingfisher Airlines, which folded in 2012, burdened by significant unpaid loans. Its owner, Vijay Mallya, left India in 2016 and is currently fighting extradition from the UK over fraud allegations.
With Jet Airways’ assets now set for liquidation, the decision marks a significant moment in India’s aviation history, highlighting the ongoing volatility in one of the world’s largest aviation markets.
