Airport operators blame airlines for dodging payments

Airport operators blame big airlines of not paying their airport charges on time and have devised a new strategy to combat this issue. For three big airport operators the dues are over Rs 1,000 crore. So what are operators planning to do to ensure their payments come on time? Swati Khandelwal Jain reports.
For Airport Authority of India, the outstanding dues by all airlines is close to Rs 800 crore as on date. A majority of this amount is to be paid by NACIL or Air India, which is close to Rs 550 crore. Private airlines owe the balance amount. In the case of GMR, which operates the Hyderabad and Delhi airports, the outstanding dues to be paid to them by airlines is close to Rs 150 crore. GVK Infra, which operates the Mumbai Airport, the outstanding dues are about Rs 200 crore. Sanjay Reddy, MD, MIAL said, “As the amounts become larger, they (airlines) are finding it difficult to pay on time. But just like any business we have to put pressure on them to ensure that we get our money on time because that is critical for us.”
While the airport operator can levy an interest of about 18% on the outstanding dues, they can also encash the security deposit, which is essentially in the form of a bank guarantee or fixed deposit.
08/04/10 Swati Khandelwal/CNBC-TV18/Money Control.com

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Categories: Airports Apr 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010