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DGCA To Conduct Financial Audit Of Turbulence-Hit Jet Airways

Audit of airlines is done to assess their fiscal health and ensure they are not compromising on safety due to financial stress.

An aircraft comin into land at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)
An aircraft comin into land at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

Aviation regulator DGCA is set to conduct a financial audit on Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways, amid concerns over the financial health of the country’s oldest private air carrier, a source said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already evaluated the financial health of the national carrier Air India recently, besides conducting a special audit of Air Deccan, the source close to the development said.

The financial audit of airlines, which has been conducted in the past too, is done to assess their fiscal health and ensure that they are not compromising on safety due to financial stress.

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“We will conduct the financial audit of Jet Airways from Aug. 27. A similar audit of Air India has been completed,” the source said.

The financial audit of Air India was necessitated as the airline has been defaulting on salary payments to its employees, besides grounding several aircraft due to payment issues with vendors.

The loss-making Air India, which failed to attract any buyer earlier this year, is also facing a cash crunch and is awaiting Rs 980 crore additional funding from the government.

It delayed the payment of salaries to its employees for the fifth consecutive month in July.

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The DGCA has also carried out a special audit of Air Deccan and will soon be conducting a similar exercise on Air Odisha, following orders from the aviation ministry, the source said.

The two carriers, which together have been mandated to fly on 84 routes under the government's regional connectivity scheme, had recently cancelled several flights, citing shortage of pilots and technical glitch in their aircraft, the source said.

Air Deccan had started operations in December last year while Air Odisha took to the skies in February this year.

The Ahmedabad-based GSEC Aviation and Monarch Networth Capital had last year acquired 100 percent stake in Air Deccan and 60 percent in Air Odisha.