New Delhi, Apr 23 (IANS): Amid concerns raised by investors bidding for a stake in the grounded Jet Airways, the Civil Aviation Ministry (MoCA) on Tuesday said that historic rights of slots of the financially crippled airline across various airports would be protected.

"The historic rights of Jet Airways, as per the provisions of the extant MoCA guidelines for slot allocation will be protected. These slots would be made available to Jet Airways as and when they revive their operations, as per the extant guidelines," the ministry said in an official press release.

It clarified that the slots vacated by Jet Airways are being given to other airlines purely on a temporary basis and for a period of three months. The slots are currently being allotted by a committee comprising all concerned stakeholders in a transparent manner, the statement added.

In a meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, senior airline executives and representatives of airline employees had urged the Minister to protect Jet Airways' slots to ensure that there is enough value for prospective buyers.

Jet Airways had last week suspended its operations indefinitely in the face of a severe liquidity crisis. The airline's revival now depends on a successful stake sale initiated by the consortium of Jet's lenders led by state-run State Bank of India (SBI).

Thhe airlines' lenders have said in a statement that they are "reasonably hopeful" that the stake sale process would succeed and determine a fair value of the enterprise.

As per industry sources, private equity firms TPG Capital, Indigo Partners, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Etihad Airways are in the race to buy a stake in the grounded carrier.