Thackeray threatens to ground Jet Airways

Mumbai: Jet Airways's decision to dismiss 1,900 employees has given enough fuel to the controversy-ridden political party of Raj Thackeray to take up the cause of the sacked employees.

Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief on Wednesday said no Jet Airways flight would be allowed to take off from Mumbai if the airline does not reinstate the sacked employees.

He told reporters that MNS activists would meet the airline's management on Thursday to ask the company to reinstate the dismissed employees, all flight attendants. If not, MNS will block all Jet Airways activities.

Perhaps, for the first time, MNS is supporting not just those who are from Mumbai but also those from outside the city and state.

A Jet Airways employee working at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport told Gulf News, "All of us are tense and worried, not knowing what's going to happen next."

Manoj Chauhan, a MNS activist said: "In the first place, why did they recruit so many employees and terminate so many of them?"

At a press conference yesterday, Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock Schauer said, "We are in the process of releasing personnel in other categories also."

These include probationary and unconfirmed personnel in other areas including cockpit crew and management personnel to reflect the lower number of flights and seats offered. This will cut across all activities of the company, he said.

Jet Airways defended its action with its executive director Saroj Dutta saying that this was a step to save the company. He also said that the company would rehire the dismissed staff when the situation improved.