Jet Airways, the once largest airline in terms of the market value, is under investigation for a $2.6 Bn fraud. The Delhi High Court has denied Founder Naresh Goyal the permission to fly overseas until the time that the investigation is closed and the verdict is out. 

The aircraft carrier company owes a minimum of 73 billion rupees which is $1.1 Bn to different banks and has filed for bankruptcy since the time that it defaulted on loans that were due on Dec. 31. Jet Airways shut down comes almost seven years after the closure of Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines which also fought in the tough price war in India’s aviation market. 

Apart from trying to extradite Mallya from London, Nirav Modi--the diamond tycoon--is also another name which is taken in the same breath as Mallya and Goyal. 

Back in April this year, when SBI began the bidding process for the stake sale in the carrier, the future of the employees became more unclear as time went by. The pilots and the rest of the staff were the most in distress. 

Jet Airways was one company that had the loyalty of its employees on its side. Some employees who had been with the aircraft carrier for about two decades didn’t want to let go during times of turbulence. About 800 members from the All India Jet Airways Technicians Association had written an open letter expressing solidarity with their employer. 

Back in 2018, Jet Airways laid off twenty employees which included senior-level executives and in-flight service department personnel. However, as the crisis brewed for a longer time and employees were kept waiting for their salaries, the engagement with the employer and their jobs started to wane.

“Unlike other airlines, Jet and Indigo have the scale. So growth opportunities and large roles can be eventually provided to Jet’s employees in a sector which is still growing in India,” according to Kamal Karanth, Talent Specialist and Co-Founder, Xpheno, who had said that the Jet crisis could have been averted, earlier this year.