UAE national carrier Etihad Airways is holding discussions with India’s Jet Airways and its bankers on a potential rescue plan, according to UK-based news agency Reuters.

According to the report, executives of both carriers met with Jet Airways’ bankers in Mumbai in recent days to “discuss ways to address its cash flow issues and evaluate the carrier’s future business plan.”

The UAE government-backed Etihad Airways owns 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways.

MEED understands the UAE carrier is considering a new round of investment in the Indian airline if an agreeable structure is proposed.

The talks are understood to be exploratory and nothing has been finalised.

According to Reuters, Jet Airways owes money to lessors and vendors and has delayed payments to pilots and senior executives.

Etihad Airways itself is in the middle of a restructuring programme. It registered losses of $1.52bn in 2017, down $432m compared with the previous year.

The airline suspended a number of routes in 2017-18 including flights to San Francisco and Dallas/Fort Worth, both in the US, Entebbe (Uganda), Tehran (Iran) and Venice (Italy). However, a new route between Abu Dhabi and Baku (Azerbaijan) was launched in March 2018 and services to Barcelona (Spain) started on 21 November.