Jet Airways temporarily suspends all flights

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) –  Troubled Indian airline Jet Airways has temporarily suspended all its domestic and international flights after failing to find fresh funding.

The airline said its last flight would operate on Wednesday as it was not able to pay for fuel and other critical services.

Jet Airways said it had no choice but to suspend the flights, but hopes to start flying again.

It has $1.2bn (£900m) debt and has been in talks with lenders for weeks.

With 123 planes, Jet Airways is India’s biggest private airline, but reports say that just five planes have been in use.

In a statement the airline said it had been forced to ground all its flights because “prolonged and sustained efforts with lenders and authorities did not yield the desired results”.

The Indian government had asked state-run banks to step in with a bailout plan for the airline – which employs 23,000 people and was founded by Naresh Goyal more than 25 years ago. He stepped down as chairman last month, foreign media reports.