Troubled Jet Airways Cancels International Flights

India's Jet Airways cancelled several international flights on Thursday and grounded another 10 aircraft after failing to pay lessors, deepening the woes of the beleaguered carrier.

"We have cancelled all long-haul west-bound international flights from India from tonight until tomorrow (Friday) morning," a Jet Airways spokesperson said late on Thursday.

The cancellations affected five flights to London, Paris and Amsterdam. Thursday and Friday services to Colombo and Singapore were also cancelled but a flight to Kathmandu did run.

The west-bound flights were scheduled to start again from Friday afternoon but services to Asian countries were expected to remain suspended on Friday, the spokesman added.

The airline runs daily flights between Hong Kong and the Indian cities of Mumbai and Delhi.

The development comes as a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India tries to sell a majority stake in the debt-laden airline to keep it flying.

Jet Airways was until recently India's second-biggest airline but is on the brink of collapse with debts of more than US$1 billion.

The carrier has been forced to ground the majority of its fleet as it struggles to pay aircraft lessors and staff.

On Thursday, it told the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had grounded 10 more planes due to non-payment. The airline now operates just 16 planes out of a fleet of 119. (AFP)