BackAirports Authority asks SpiceJet to clear dues by 30 November
A SpiceJet official said an additional bank guarantee of Rs20 crore was provided to the AAI on Wednesday
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Mumbai: The Airports Authority of India served a notice to Ajay Singh-controlled budget carrier SpiceJet to pay up to Rs20 crore by 30 November to partially clear its dues, an AAI source said.
A SpiceJet official said an additional bank guarantee of Rs20 crore was provided to the AAI on Wednesday.
The AAI claims the airline’s dues have crossed the 80% of threshold of its security deposit.
As per the AAI norms, all the carriers are supposed to keep their dues within 80% of their security deposit with the state-run aerodrome operator.
SpiceJet’s outstanding towards landing, parking and route navigation charges currently stands at Rs117 crore, against its security deposit of Rs104 crore, the source said.
“We have sent a notice to SpiceJet yesterday (Tuesday) to pay Rs20 crore by 30 November to bring down their dues at par with the 80% threshold of the security deposit," the source said.
If the carrier fails to pay Rs20 crore by the stipulated deadline, the AAI may increase the payment amount against its billing to Rs3.5 crore, the source added. Earlier in the day, a SpiceJet spokesperson said that payments to the AAI and other vendors are being made by the airline as per the schedule.
“We remain firmly committed to all our obligations," the spokesperson said.
In a filing to the BSE, SpiceJet reiterated that it is making its payments as per “stipulated timelines" and it stands committed to all our contractual obligations.
The no-frills airline, which operates an average 446 flights daily to 57 destinations, reported a net loss of Rs389.37 crore for the September quarter on surge in fuel costs and forex losses.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs105.27 crore in the same period of last fiscal.
Besides, the airline has also been told to pay at least Rs2.5 crore against its per-day billing for faster clearance of its dues, the AAI source said.
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