Oil firms await refuelling request from SpiceJet

Part payment brings minor relief for airline

Drama over fuel supply to SpiceJet continued on Wednesday, with oil-marketing companies (OMCs) that supply aviation turbine fuel to the airline awaiting a request for refuelling from the low-cost carrier.

Oil firms confirmed they had received small tranches of payments from SpiceJet through the day. “Some funds have come from them (SpiceJet) and, therefore, we are ready to refuel. But there has been no request so far from SpiceJet for resumption of fuel supply,” said a senior executive of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), the country’s third-largest fuel retailer.

Another executive from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil marketing company and a fuel supplier of SpiceJet, said IOC was yet to hear from the government on resumption of fuel supply.  

Meanwhile, amid reports some flights had resumed operation after 4 pm, SpiceJet Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sanjiv Kapoor tweeted an apology to all passengers inconvenienced by delay in services through the day.

Earlier, with the troubled airline grounding its flights, oil companies had made it clear the budget airline would get fuel only on immediate payments, as the airline was in “cash-and-carry” mode. SpiceJet had bought some fuel till Tuesday but had not made fresh requests for fuel for cash purchase since then.

As a result, its aircraft were not being refuelled. The civil aviation ministry had on Tuesday said it might request Indian banks and financial institutions to extend loans of up to Rs 600 crore to the airline, as part of measures to keep the carrier off ground.

The ministry also said it would request the finance ministry to permit the airline to raise external commercial borrowings for working capital requirements, as a special dispensation, provided SpiceJet committed itself to infusing capital at the earliest. SpiceJet COO Kapoor and Sun Group Chief Financial Officer S L Narayanan had on Monday met the civil aviation minister and Director General of Civil Aviation Prabhat Kumar, and sought the government’s help in overcoming the present crisis. SpiceJet’s total liabilities currently stand at Rs 2,000 crore, including payments due to OMCs and the Airports Authority of India.