 "SpiceJet back in operation, pays cash to buy jet fuel")
Troubled airline SpiceJet on Thursdayresumed operations after being forced to cancel over 150flights with oil marketing companies refusing to refuel itsplanes forcing the budget carrier to pay Rs three crore lastevening to buy jet fuel.
“So far, the operations are going as scheduled,” airportsources said, as the airline flew at least five flights out ofDelhi till 1000 hours to Mumbai, Jaipur, Port Blair, Kochi andVaranasi.
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The airline came out of the brink today after all itsflights were grounded for about ten hours yesterday before itmade part payment of Rs three crore to oil companies enablingit to partly resume operations. Of the 243 listed flights, itclaimed to have operated 75 across the country after 1600hours on Wednesday.
Ajay Singh, one of the original promoters of SpiceJet,met with Civil Aviation Secretary V Somasundaran fuellingspeculation about the former planning to invest in the carrieronce again.
Singh refused to reply to questions on whether he wouldinvest, but said SpiceJet had a “lot of potential”.S L Narayanan, CFO of the airline’s parent company SunGroup, told PTI, “We need some breathing time…if we get areprieve from the banks and Mr (Kalanithi) Maran is ready togive guarantee we can restart the engine. Once the collectionstarts coming in, we will pay (the dues).”
Maran has already invested around Rs 820 crore in thelast three years and he has invested whenever the airline hasneeded money, he said.The Civil Aviation Ministry’s decision not to allowSpiceJet to take bookings beyond 30 days turned counter-productive, affecting its daily earnings. This forced theMinistry to put on hold its decision.
It had also asked oil companies and airport operators toextend a 15-day credit facility to SpiceJet to save theairline from shutting down.The Ministry’s intervention, however, came with a riderthat the beleaguered airline will commit capital infusion atthe earliest.
The airline has total liabilities of Rs 2,000 crorewhich include dues to the public sector oil firms and theAirports Authority of India (AAI).The last time an airline to stop operations under mountinglosses was two years ago when Kingfisher, which hadoutstanding of around Rs 6,000 crore, shut down.
PTI