Oil Ministry charges, Patel defends 'defaulter' airlines

Mumbai: According to Press Trust of India (PTI) report, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel recently defended delay by airline companies in payment of their fuel bills saying they were not defaulters, but the Petroleum Ministry maintained that Jet Airways had defaulted on payment of Rs 259 crore to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
After Petroleum Ministry gave details about the dues of Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways and its new found ally Kingfisher, Patel told reporters in the Parliament that the airline had a 60-day period to make payments. “So they cannot be branded as defaulters,” said Patel. However the Petroleum Ministry countered Patel by saying that Jet had failed to make payments even after expiry of the 60-day grace period. Jet's total outstanding to IOC stood at Rs 859 crore, of which it had defaulted on payment of Rs 259 crore bills, which were due on September 25 and October 5 this year after the expiry of 60-day period, said a senior official.
Similarly, Kingfisher owed Rs 110 crore to IOC, of which Rs 60 crore remained unpaid after expiry of the credit period. Jet owes Rs 284.3 crore to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) while Kingfisher owes Rs 246 crore to BPCL and Rs 525 crore to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora had personally brokered the 60-day credit deal between Naresh Goyal’s Jet Airways and Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, IOC. Deora said last week that he was hurt when Goyal did not keep his word on making timely payments. The official said both Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines had to clear their outstanding at the earliest as state-run oil firms themselves were in difficult times.
20/10/08 TravelBizMonitor

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2008