Airlines owe Rs 4,000 cr on airport charges

The government today said that outstanding payment of over Rs 4,000 crore are due against various national, domestic and foreign airlines till June this year.

"Pursuant to issuance of notice by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the dues have been settled by the airlines. Major defaulting airlines which did not settle their dues even after issuance of notice are Air India and Kingfisher Airlines," Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Efforts are being made by Airports Authority of India to recover the said dues expeditiously, Ravi said while disclosing the names of airlines against which landing, parking and other charges are outstanding.

The data given by the Minister was compiled till June 30 this year.

"The outstanding dues are monitored on regular basis. In cases of delay, AAI issues notices to the airlines to settle the dues. Penal interest has been charged on account of delay in the settlement of bills.

In cases where delay persisted, the security deposit has been encashed and the concerned airlines has been put on "cash and carry" basis," he said.

The national carriers, including Air India and Pawan Hans Limited, have a total due of Rs 847.6 crore, domestic airlines Rs 348.6 crore and foreign airlines had a total due of Rs 1418 crore. The total dues stand at Rs 4032 crore, during the same period.

Amongst domestic fliers Kingfisher Airlines has a due of Rs 205 crore, while Jet Airways has a due of Rs 38 crore.

Emirates has a due of Rs 14 crore and Qatar Airways has a pending amount of Rs 9.5 crore.