Jet Airways to discontinue services in Silchar; Barak Valley travellers might have to pay more 

A major blow for air travellers of Barak Valley and entire northeastern region. India’s biggest full-service carrier by market share Jet Airways have announced that it would discontinue its services in Silchar, Aizawl, Imphal and Jorhat from February, 2019 onwards. 

This decision was well expected as Jet, whose debt was about 80.52 billion rupees ($1.14 billion) as of Sept. 30, failed to raise funds despite making several attempts. At present, Jet does not have the liquidity to honour all payments and expenses but is paying statutory dues such as taxes as per a Financial Express report. The Etihad Airways which owns 24% stake in Jet is unlikely to invest more in Sanjeev Goyal owned and controlled airline as the UAE based aviation giant itself reported a $1.52 billion annual loss for 2017.

Jet’s decision to discontinue, could harm people of Barak Valley in a big manner believes an analyst in the aviation sector, “As number of flights drop down there will be more demand and less supply. This could result in existing operating companies hiking their price especially for Silchar-Guwahati flights.”

However,  Interglobe Aviation Ltd’s IndiGo airlines which is in an expansion phase might start its service in Silchar and other north-eastern airports.

A senior official working in the aviation sector in Silchar said, “Indigo has been contemplating since last couple of years and is yet to breakthrough. Now that Jet is discontinuing its service, Indigo might take a decisive call and start landing in Silchar from early next year.”

In Silchar, Jet Airways has 16 employees working for it, while as per sources an additional 50 employees are employed in Aizwal, Imphal and Jorhat combined. What stays ahead for these employees is yet to be determined.