NEW DELHI: In a major blow to grounded
Kingfisher's plans to restart operations, the Airports Authority of India (AAI)
has refused to give its nod to the airline to do so without first recovering
dues of Rs 300 crore. The AAI conveyed this to the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday when the regulator sought its views after getting a
new plan from Vijay Mallya's nearly bankrupt airline earlier this week.
"AAI chairman V P Agrawal has written to DGCA chief Arun Mishra that Kingfisher can't be allowed to restart operations unless it first clears its dues.
Once it does that, Agrawal told the DG, the airline can be allowed to fly on
cash-and-carry basis," said sources.
Kingfisher owes about Rs 300 crore to AAI, out of which cheques for Rs 127 crore have bounced. "Lessors of Kingfisher want to repossess four Airbus A-320s. AAI has asked the lessors to cough up Rs 70 crore before they can be allowed to do so," said sources. The worries of companies that have leased planes to Kingfisher are growing as government agencies have started impounding aircraft because of the dues. The service tax department recently impounded an aircraft for this reason.
Aviation minister Ajit Singh and DGCA sources have made it clear that the new plan submitted by Kingfisher does not have any concrete financing roadmap for the cash-strapped airline.
Kingfisher owes about Rs 300 crore to AAI, out of which cheques for Rs 127 crore have bounced. "Lessors of Kingfisher want to repossess four Airbus A-320s. AAI has asked the lessors to cough up Rs 70 crore before they can be allowed to do so," said sources. The worries of companies that have leased planes to Kingfisher are growing as government agencies have started impounding aircraft because of the dues. The service tax department recently impounded an aircraft for this reason.
Aviation minister Ajit Singh and DGCA sources have made it clear that the new plan submitted by Kingfisher does not have any concrete financing roadmap for the cash-strapped airline.
A top official said that the airline's
promoters are making desperate efforts to somehow get their licence back (which
expires on Monday) so that they may be able to sell it off to someone.
"Who will invest in a grounded airline that has collective debt and losses
of over Rs 15,000 crore and an unpaid workforce of over 3,000 employees? The
plan given by Kingfisher has nothing concrete in terms of recapitalization,"
said an official.
Also the aviation ministry is likely to take a tough stand on Kingfisher this time as its earlier soft handling had drawn flak. The airline was forced to declare a shutdown on October 1, a day after its employees refused to attach step ladders or aerobridges to aircraft. The DGCA later issued a notice to it and then suspended its licence - which is expiring on Monday.
Also the aviation ministry is likely to take a tough stand on Kingfisher this time as its earlier soft handling had drawn flak. The airline was forced to declare a shutdown on October 1, a day after its employees refused to attach step ladders or aerobridges to aircraft. The DGCA later issued a notice to it and then suspended its licence - which is expiring on Monday.
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