Etihad says not in talks to raise stake in Jet Airways

A Jet Airways passenger plane prepares to land past a new air traffic control tower under construction at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi July 29, 2013. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/FIles

ABU DHABI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways denied a media report on Tuesday that it is in discussions with the Indian government to raise its 24 percent stake in Jet Airways . Citing unnamed government sources, Bloomberg TV India said in a report earlier on Tuesday that Etihad had approached India's Ministry of Civil Aviation for permission to buy more of Jet, the country's second-biggest carrier by market share. "We are not in discussions with the government about raising our stake in Jet Airways," an Etihad official said in an emailed statement. Etihad bought a stake in Jet, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, two years ago, giving it a foothold in India's fast-growing aviation industry. Shares in Jet closed up 2.44 percent on Tuesday against a 0.27 percent rise in the benchmark <.BSESN>. A spokesman for Jet did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Nadia Saleem and Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Greg Mahlich)