Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Troubled Jet Airways lenders to decide on emergency funds

JET AIRWAYS' lenders were to meet today (15) to decide whether to release crucial funds to keep the stricken Indian carrier flying as it teeters on the brink of collapse.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded in recent days after the airline, which has debts of more than £763 million ($1 billion), cancelled all international flights as it cannot pay its bills.


The airline has only seven jets left after dozens of others were seized by creditors in recent weeks.

Pilots, engineers, and ground staff who have not been paid for three months have said they will strike if the banks do not inject emergency funds.

They had planned to strike from Monday (15) but postponed the action until after the bankers' meeting.

The State Bank of India-led lenders took control of Jet last month, pledging to give £166m of immediate funding support as part of a debt resolution plan.

But most of the funds have not been released and Jet, which is now operating a skeleton service, needs the money desperately or could go bust within days, Indian media reports say.

Jet has been in a tailspin for months. All of its international flights have been suspended until at least Tuesday (16), with Europe and North America particularly badly hit.

Hundreds of staff protested in New Delhi and Mumbai over the weekend demanding to be paid and calling for the company to be rescued.

The Mumbai-based firm has defaulted on loans and repeatedly failed to pay staff and lessors in recent months.

The SBI-led consortium is trying to find a buyer for Jet, which was until recently India's second-biggest airline by market share.

A deadline passed last week for prospective bidders to express an interest in acquiring a 75 per cent stake in the carrier.

Etihad Airways, which owns a 24 per cent stake, has submitted an expression of interest to buy a controlling stake of up to 75 per cent, according to media reports.

Naresh Goyal, who founded the airline but quit as chairman last month, has also lodged a bid, as have several private equity groups, newspapers said.

Prime minister Narendra Modi's government, for whom a collapse of Jet would be a blow as it seeks a second term in a national election, convened a crisis meeting last week.

 (AFP)

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less