SpiceJet in default on Rs160 crore owed to AAI payments: govt
SpiceJet said it's been paying the authority regularly this year on agreed terms
New Delhi: India’s government said SpiceJet Ltd. is in default on Rs160 crore ($24 million) owed to the Airports Authority of India, prompting a response from the budget carrier that it hasn’t skipped any payments since January.
Credit-based payment options for airport use were scrapped for the airline after the default, according to junior aviation minister Mahesh Sharma’s written reply to a question in Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. SpiceJet said it’s been paying the authority regularly this year on agreed terms.
The shares reversed earlier losses exacerbated by the government’s statement and closed 1.35% higher at Rs67.10 in Mumbai. The stock has surged about 290% this year after the carrier recovered from a cash squeeze and near-collapse in 2014.
Co-founder Ajay Singh bailed out India’s second-biggest budget carrier and the company has posted three straight quarters of profit, helped by a slump in crude oil that made jet fuel cheaper. SpiceJet is seeking shareholder approval to raise as much as Rs5,000 crore in loans as it looks to order more than 150 planes. Bloomberg
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