AAI Directs SpiceJet To Settle Rs 20 Crore Dues By Nov. 30

The Airports Authority of India served a notice to budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd., asking it to pay Rs 20 crore by Nov. 30 to partially clear its dues, a source said.

The authority claims the airline's dues have crossed the 80 percent threshold of its security deposit. As per AAI norms, all carriers are supposed to keep their dues within this threshold of their security deposit with the state-run aerodrome operator.

SpiceJet's outstanding towards landing, parking and route navigation charges currently stands at Rs 117 crore, against its security deposit of Rs 104 crore, the source said. The source also said that a notice was sent to the airline on Tuesday to pay Rs 20 crore by Nov. 30 to bring down its dues at par with the 80 percent threshold of the security deposit.

When contacted, a SpiceJet spokesperson said that payments to AAI and other vendors were being made by the airline as per the schedule. "We remain firmly committed to all our obligations."

Besides, the airline had also been told to pay at least Rs 2.5 crore against its per-day billing for faster clearance of its dues, the AAI source said.

If the carrier fails to pay Rs 20 crore by the stipulated deadline, the AAI may increase the payment amount against its billing to Rs 3.5 crore, the source added.

In a regulatory filing, the airline reiterated its comments and said that they were making their payments as per stipulated timelines and stood committed to all their contractual obligations.

The Gurugram-based airline, which operates an average 446 flights daily to 57 destinations, reported a net loss of Rs 389.37 crore for the September-ended quarter on surging fuel costs and foreign exchange losses. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 105.27 crore in the year-ago period.