Kingfisher in talks with DIAL for rescheduling dues

The cash-strapped airline owes Rs 56 crore to DIAL

The ailing Kingfisher Airlines has started discussions with Delhi International Airports Limited (DIAL) for rescheduling its dues, a top official of GMR Group said here today.

"They [Kingfisher] were passing through a difficult phase. They had drawn up a schedule earlier. But unfortunately they could not meet it. There is a dialogue going on for the revised schedule," PS Nair, CEO Corporate (Airport Sector), GMR Group, major shareholder of DIAL, told reporters without divulging details of the rescheduled package.

Kingfisher Airlines owes around Rs 56 crore to DIAL.

Nair, who was in the city to participate in a conference, said Kingfisher is currently running its operation at Delhi Airport on cash and carry basis by paying Rs 25 lakh a day.

Responding to a query on Air India, he said the management of the state-owned air carrier has assured to clear its dues of about Rs 250 crore given that a package for reviving the airliner has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"If you look at the receivables, the major is Air India. With Rs 30,000 crore infusion, we were assured by the Air India management that they have no intension of holding back our [DIAL] dues," Nair said.

Recently the CCEA announced a turnaround package for Air India with  Rs 30,000 crore equity infusion over a nine-year period and induction of 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

DIAL is a consortium of the GMR Group (50.1%), Fraport AG (10%), Malaysia Airports (10%), India Development Fund (3.9%) and the Airports Authority of India (26%) stake.

On Male's International Airport, Nair said the company has already started work on a new terminal that will have capacity to handle five million passengers and is expected to be ready by 2014.