India’s second largest airline, Jet Airways has delayed the payment of it 20 percent staff as it aims to recover for the losses made in the year due to operational costs. As part of its turnaround plan, Jet aims to cut costs to the tune of 20 billion rupees to compensate losses incurred. The salary delay applies to those within the higher pay bracket, including pilots.

The airline shared in media, “In line with the mandate received from the company’s board of directors, the airline management is undertaking definite steps to turn around its business and is evaluating various funding options on priority to resolve the interim challenge.”

Earlier the airline had posted a net loss of 13.26 billion rupees (US$189 million) in the April-June quarter of the 2018-19 financial year. This was its third-highest quarterly loss. The airline blamed the increase in costs and low fares for the loss. Rival IndiGo’s profit fell 97% in the quarter, while SpiceJet was 380 million rupees in the red.

A Reuters report, citing CAPA India,  suggested that Indian airline losses could touch 1.9 billion this year. Jet Airways has emerged as one of the biggest losers among the airline sector due to its mounting losses.