New Delhi:
Dues of 4 main home airways — IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia India — to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) greater than doubled between February and July amid the coronavirus pandemic, senior officers stated.
Nonetheless, Air India is the home airline that owes the very best quantity of dues to the AAI. The nationwide service’s dues to the AAI elevated by 2.75 per cent to Rs 2,258.27 crore on this interval, the officers famous.
An airline has to pay numerous costs comparable to air navigation, touchdown, parking and many others to the AAI to make use of services at any of its greater than 100 airports. Each Air India and the AAI work beneath the Civil Aviation Ministry.
India has six main home carriers, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia India, Air India and Vistara, which owed a complete of Rs 2562.04 crore to the AAI as on August 1 and this was round 10 per cent greater than on February 1, the officers informed PTI.
They stated the dues of India’s largest airline IndiGo stood at Rs 41.62 crore on February 1, which elevated by 130.6 per cent to Rs 95.99 crore within the subsequent six-month interval.
The aviation sector has been vastly impacted due to journey restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic. Due to this fact, the six main home carriers have instituted numerous cost-cutting measures comparable to pay cuts, layoffs or depart with out pay throughout the previous few months.
SpiceJet, which is India’s second largest service, had dues of Rs 65.35 crore to the AAI on February 1, which elevated to Rs 132.Four crore by August 1, the officers said.
Attributable to non-payment of dues, the AAI had on August 1 put SpiceJet on money and carry mode, which suggests the airline has to pay costs every day at AAI-run airports to function flights from there.
SpiceJet spokesperson informed PTI, “SpiceJet stays firmly dedicated to its obligations. We proceed to have regular operations in any respect AAI-run airports as earlier than.”
Air India’s dues to the AAI on February 1 stood at 2197.6 crore and it elevated to Rs 2258.27 crore on August 1, the officers famous.
On July 8, the AAI put Air India on money and carry mode at airports in Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Chennai and Kolkata for non-payment of dues.
AirAsia India’s dues to the AAI elevated from Rs 0.96 crore on February 1 to Rs 18.89 crore on August 1, the officers talked about.
“Whereas we don’t touch upon particular figures, AirAsia India has been making common funds of dues to the Airport Authority throughout the agreed credit score interval,” the airline’s spokesperson informed PTI.
Vistara is barely one of many six main home carriers which noticed its dues to the AAI lower in February-July interval. Its dues have been 5.72 crore on February 1 and it fell to Rs 4.31 crore on August 1, the officers stated. Each AirAsia India and Vistara have Tata group as the bulk shareholder.
Air India, IndiGo and Vistara didn’t reply to PTI’s queries on the matter.
GoAir’s dues to the AAI elevated from Rs 16.91 crore on February 1 to Rs 52.18 crore on August 1, the officers talked about.
On August 10, GoAir was placed on money and carry mode by the AAI on its airports due to non-payment of dues.
“GoAir is engaged in steady discussions with AAI and wish to guarantee that there isn’t a affect on GoAir’s operations,” its spokesperson stated.
“GoAir flights will proceed to be operated as regular in any respect airports. Actually, AAI is holding securities a lot in extra of the publicity and Go Air has represented to AAI and the MOCA to ease the necessities of securities and launch extra securities, which can present some further liquidity,” he added.
The airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are managed by non-public corporations and never by the AAI.