Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal quits amid crisis

Jet Airways' Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife have stepped down from the airline's board.

According to local media, the board wanted Naresh Goyal, Wife Anita Goyal, whole time member Gaurang, Shetty and Naseem Zaidi to quit, in return of which it would agree to infuse $210m as emergency funding.

Jet's debt exceeds $1bn (£750m) and the airline has grounded some flights as it is struggling to pay employees, suppliers and leasing companies.

Within minutes of Monday's announcement, the company's stock jumped 12%.

In a stock market filing which also announced the resignation, the company said that banks would lend around $210m to keep it afloat until it starts to sell shares to new investors.

$210m would be infused by a lenders consortium led by the State Bank of India, earlier smaller PSU banks in the consortium were unwilling but now they have agreed to pour in money. The airline might get emergency funds within a week.

Meanwhile, a senior government official Monday told the local agency that a "good outcome" from the negotiations between the creditors and the company would be better than moving for proceedings under the insolvency law.

Goyal's stake will be cut to 25.5 per cent from the current 51 per cent, while Etihad Airways' stake in the debt-laden carrier will also be halved to 12 per cent to make room for the banks to take a controlling stake of 50.5 percent in the airline, according to some media reports.

In recent weeks, Jet had grounded more than two-thirds of the 119 aircraft in its fleet. Thousands of flights were cancelled, affecting passengers flying on both international and domestic routes.

A pilots' organisation had also warned that its members would stop flying for the carrier if their salaries were not paid by the end of March.