Domestic airlines have got 115-120 slots previously with Jet Airways at 15-18 airports operated by the Airports Authority of India.. The airline temporarily suspended its operations on April 17 due to funds crunch.
A slot is a landing-and-take-off sequence that allows an airline and the airport to plan their operations. Most of the slots, which have been given to other airlines, are daily slots although there are some on which Jet Airways operated flights four or five times a week.
This is the first time that the number of slots vacated by Jet Airways has been made public since it suspended operations.
However, the number of its slots that have been given to other airlines at the AAI-run airports will be a fraction of what Jet was occupying at airports in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which are operated in public-private partnership mode. The private sector plays a greater role in the operations and management of these facilities.
The number of slots that Jet Airways has vacated at these metro airports, and are now available, has not been made public yet. But private sector airlines have been adding flights from slots-constrained airports like Mumbai, which is a clear indication that at least some of the vacated slots have been given to other domestic airlines.
The government has maintained that Jet Airways’ slots are being given to other carriers temporarily as the now defunct airline could make a come back.
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