A dramatic turn took place on 16 October 2008, following the unexpected protest by the probationers of the Jet Airways, including the cabin crew and ground staff, when its Chairman Naresh Goyal`s conscience pangs resulted in withdrawing the retrenchment order of 1,900 staffers of the airlines. After seeing two days of protests and agitation, an emotional Chairman stated that he would like to apologise for the retrenchment decision and asked the staff to join work from 17 October 2008 onwards. Though, according the Chairman, his conscience and his inability to see the tears and suffering of the staff had forced him to withdraw the order, rumors state that it is the Maharastra Navnirman Sena chief`s threat to intervene that gave an immediate twist to the event.

The layoff of 1,900 employees of the airways was announced on 15 October when most of the workers were waiting for their pick-up vehicle to reach the office. As the first step, the management had issued order of retrenching 800 cabin crew, to be followed by termination notices to the rest of the 1,100 employees. According to the management officials, these measures were taken to ensure that the airline remains economically viable. In order to protect the employment of the remaining 11,100 jobs, 1,900 had to lose their jobs.

On 15 October 2008, in front of the Jet Airways office in Mumbai, around 300 retrenched staff including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff had come together in protest against the management`s decision. Later, they approached Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), seeking his intervention in the matter. In Delhi, around 100 retrenched employees held a demonstration at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on 16 October 2008, protesting against the incorrectness and high-handeness of the management in terminating their services.

Work was disrupted at the Jet Airways counter because the agitating staff did not allow the sale of tickets and even tried to stop the cabin crew from entering terminal-1A. The serving employees, on the other hand, were in a fix as to whether they should express solidarity with their former colleagues or quietly continue in their jobs.

The Indian aviation industry, which has grown at an average annual pace of more than 25 per cent in the past few years in a booming economy, is forecast to post combined losses of nearly $2 billion in the year to March 2009. That will be the biggest loss outside the United States, the International Air Transport Association has said.

A majority of the retrenched employees had reportedly expressed their willingness to work even for a basic salary of Rs 10,000 and without any flight allowances.