Civil aviation minister Praful Patel Major informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that private airlines owe around Rs 250 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as of June 2009. The biggest amount due is from Kingfisher Airlines, which owes around Rs 149.69 crore to AAI, making up for over half of the total outstanding by private players.
Post the termination of the ground handling agreement between Indian Airlines (IA) and Kingfisher Airlines, the latter owes Rs 7.48 crore to IA, which is yet to be paid. The agreement which lasted from April 2005 to April 2007, was aimed at providing comprehensive ground services. While Jet Airways owes Rs 33.09 lakh, its low-cost carrier brand Jet Lite owes the authority Rs 14.18 crore.
Others like Go Airlines, Paramount Airways and Spicejet have an outstanding of Rs 13.36 crore, Rs 13.01 crore and Rs 16.55 crore, respectively.