Jet Airways cancels more flights as crisis deepens

The airline says it is rebooking passengers on other flights, or providing refunds ‘as the situation warrants’

The troubled Indian airline, Jet Airways, claims its flights connecting Heathrow with Mumbai and Delhi are suspended for four days only.

A spokesperson for the carrier said: “Jet Airways has cancelled its international operations from 12-15 April, 2019.”

But test bookings made by The Independent reveal that Jet Airways has blocked sales of its flights from Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai up to and including 18 April.

Jet Airways is rumoured to have only nine aircraft still operational. Previously it had over 100 planes in its fleet.

It has also transferred its slots at Heathrow to Etihad, the Abu Dhabi airline that has a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways.

“The airline is working to minimise guest inconvenience using its 24x7 Contact Centre, Guest Relations and the Social Media response teams, who are proactively handling schedule adjustments,” the Jet Airways spokesperson said.

The airline claims it is rebooking passengers on other flights, or providing refunds “as the situation warrants”.

But travellers who have contacted The Independent say that help in accordance with passengers’ rights rules is not forthcoming.

Samuel Jackson-Royle said his parents are due to fly from Birmingham via Paris and onwards on Jet Airways to Mumbai and finally Goa.

“Lack of support is shocking,” he said. “No idea what is going to happen or how we go about getting new flights/refund.”

“Understand your issue but it is not fair to cancel the flight without even trying to accommodate in an alternative flight. You will also understand that the flight prices if booked now are double the price at which the original ticket was booked!”

A concert promoter, Holly Wilson, tweeted the airline to say: “You should be prioritising enquiries about cancelled flights first surely?

”I have DM’d multiple times since Wednesday and have had no response.” On Wednesday, she said she had been on hold to the airline for three hours.

Travellers who are clients of tour operators should find that they are “re-protected” on other carriers.

Sam Smith, who has just finished a trekking trip to Nepal, said: “Fortunately, I have booked my trek through a tour operator, Exodus, who have reorganised my flights with Qatar Airways.

“The flight is into Gatwick rather than Heathrow, meaning that a few in our group will be at a different airport to their car/onward bus journey. I believe Exodus will be covering these extra costs.”

There has been concern that passengers who fly into Mumbai or Delhi, only to find that their Jet Airways onward international flight is cancelled, may be confined to the airport as they will not have visas for India.

But Scott Annan, who was left stranded in March by previous Jet Airways cancellations, said: “Visa on arrival is available for those unable to fly on their connecting international flights.”

The Jet Airways spokesperson added: “The airline’s management and its key stakeholders including its consortium of lenders, continue to work closely towards resolving the current situation.

“The airline regrets the inconvenience caused to its guests.”