Two months after announcing a deal to takeover Air Sahara, the biggest in India's aviation history, Jet Airways on Friday said the company had not yet approached the government for merging the rival airline with itself.

Jet officials had earlier said they would have to renegotiate the dates for merger, if the government's approval was not received within 65 days of the signing the Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion) deal on January 19, 2006.

Jet Airways in a media statement said: 'Reference is made to some media reports that have appeared in Friday's editions of the national dailies pertaining to the Jet Airways acquisition of Air Sahara.'

'Jet Airways regrets the statements made by one of its senior Executives re. pending government approvals and re-negotiation of the Agreement between Jet Airways and Air Sahara.'

'Jet Airways wishes to clarify and confirm that it has not made any application to the Government of India for the merger of Jet Airways and Air Sahara,' the statement added.