Jet Airways shares plunge as lenders seek rescue bids after cancelling all flights

Shares in troubled Jet Airways crashed almost 30 per cent this morning as lenders held out hope that the Indian carrier may receive a rescue bid after it was forced to cancel all flights.

The firm owes around $1.2bn (£921m) to banks and has been looking for a stop-gap loan of $217m that would allow it to keep operating.

Read more: Jet Airways suspends all domestic and international flights

But last night the airline said lenders “are unable to consider our request for interim funding”.

Facing the prospect of not being able to pay for fuel or services for its planes, the firm pulled all flights.

In an update this morning, lenders said they are “reasonably hopeful that the bid process is likely to be successful in determining fair value of the enterprise in a transparent manner”.

Lenders said their best chance to keep flights in the air is to “get the binding bids from potential investors who have expressed expressions of interest and have been issued bid documents on 16 April”.

Shares in the firm plunged more than 29 per cent this morning to 168 Indian rupees.

Read more: Jet Airways shares dive as airline considers operations shutdown

Once, Jet Airways operated more than 120 planes flying over 600 times every day to domestic and international destinations.

Payment is being withheld from many of the carrier's 16,000 employees, including pilots who have not been paid since March, the staff association said according to Money Control.