Private airlines owe Rs 274 cr to AAI

Private airlines in the country owe Rs 274.19 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as of October-end, with Kingfisher being ahead of Jet Airways and SpiceJet leading the pack of low-cost carriers.

Full service carriers Kingfisher and Jet Airways had dues of Rs 167.92 crore and Rs 49.86 crore, respectively, as on October 31, 2009, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

SpiceJet had dues of Rs 15.42 crore, followed by JetLite (Rs 14.66 crore). GoAir and Indigo had arrears of Rs 9.08 crore and Rs 8.72 crore, respectively.

The all-business-class carrier Paramount Airways owed Rs 8.53 crore as on that date.

For realising the arrears, "interest is levied on the defaulting airlines for the delayed settlement of AAI dues", Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

In case of sustained default, the security deposit furnished by the airlines in the form of bank guarantee/ fixed deposit is encashed, he said.

If necessary, credit facility to the airline is withdrawn and the defaulting airline's operations are put on cash & carry basis, Patel said.