With over two months salary to its pilots yet to be paid and a non-cooperation reportedly looming large, financially stressed Jet Airways on Monday said it is working out a "mutually acceptable" arrangement to ensure that it becomes current on salary overdues.

The Jet Airways management had promised to clear salary dues of its pilots by March.

However, as on date it has paid only 75 percent of the November salary while full salaries of December and January also remain unpaid. Besides, in another three days, the February salary will also be due.

"We wish to state that the company is in dialogue with its key stakeholders, to enlist their full support and cooperation," the airline said in a clarification to the stock exchanges.

In doing so, the company is also apprising them of the challenges faced by the company, it said adding," it is working out a mutually acceptable arrangement to ensure that the company becomes current on its salary overdues."

Last week, a section of pilots had reportedly warned the airline of non cooperation from March 1 if the management did not give a clarity on salary payment.

The over 1,100 unionised pilots, of the total 1,600, are represented through National Aviator's Guild (NAG) at the airline.

The company has been delaying salary of its pilots along with engineers and senior management since last August.

On December 7, the company had agreed to pay all dues by April and make the payment current from then onwards under a revised staggered payment schedule.

Jet Airways has a debt of nearly Rs 8,000 crore and needs to make repayments of up to Rs 1,700 crore by the end of next month.

In the three months ended December 2018, the airline reported its fourth consecutive quarterly net loss of Rs 732 crore.

Due to severe liquidity crunch it has defaulted on a payment of the principal and interest to the consortium of the domestic banks besides payments to lessors, and a section of employees, among others.

The lessors have forced it to ground at least six aircraft due to non-payment.

"An additional two aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements. The company is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken by the company to improve its liquidity," Jet Airways said in a regulatory filing on Saturday.

On February 7, it had grounded four planes for similar reasons.

On February 14, Jet Airways' board approved a Bank-Led Provisional Resolution Plan (BLPRP), whereby lenders would become the largest shareholders in the airline.

Its shareholders have also approved conversion of loan into shares and other proposals during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last Thursday.

First Published:Feb 25, 2019 9:30 PM IST