SpiceJet asked to pay Rs 200 crore: AAI

New Delhi, Dec 30: Cash-strapped airline SpiceJet has been asked to pay Rs.200 crore by state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) by Dec 31, an official said Tuesday.

According to an AAI official, the state-run entity has asked the troubled airline to pay its dues by Wednesday or it will be placed under cash-and-carry mode.

Airlines usually pay monthly charges to the airport operators. But under the cash-and-carry mode, they have to make daily payments for operations or every time they use various facilities of the airport, including navigation, luggage handling, parking, housing and landing charges of the aircraft as well as the ticketing counters.

AAI has asked the airline to pay its dues after the government gave the airline an interim relief of 15 days for payments of dues to AAI and oil companies.

The airline recently announced that it has paid all dues to the oil companies.

The development comes a day after the troubled airline failed to submit a cash flow plan to the aviation ministry to show that its potential investors are ready to pump in the required funds to keep its operations alive.

On Dec 26, the airline's management along with new investors submitted a revival plan to the civil aviation ministry, proposing a Rs.300 crore infusion and a subsequent Rs.1,200 crore buyout to keep the airline afloat.

The company's chief operating officer Sanjeev Kapoor along with co-founder Ajay Singh submitted a revival plan which incorporated an equity infusion of Rs.300 crore which has been backed by banks.

Singh, the co-founder of the airline, had earlier sold his stake in 2010 but is now interested in investing back in the budget carrier to save it from shutting operations.

The troubles for the cash-strapped airline started after it recently reported a Rs.310 crore loss in the quarter ended September from Rs.560 crore loss in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The airline had also reduced its fleet size and is now operating only 18 aircraft from a fleet size of 35 earlier this year. It is currently operating 230 flights per day.

Even the company's auditors SR Batliboi & Associates have doubted the airline's ability to stay afloat.

IANS