Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) has sent a notice to cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines to pay the Rs.90-crore outstanding dues, official sources told this correspondent here on Thursday.
MIAL will also put Kingfisher Airlines on cash-and-carry mode from December 3, wherein the airline will have to pay around Rs.50-60 lakh daily to the authorities to operate from the Mumbai airport.
Other airports might also follow suit, sources said.
Sources said MIAL was prompted to move after the cheques sent by the airline bounced. “They have also not answered as to how they are going to clear their dues,” sources said.
Kingfisher Airlines had not paid the dues in the last six months, sources added.
“The daily operational expense of Kingfisher is around Rs.25-30 lakh (from MIAL). It will not be allowed to operate from Saturday unless it pays Rs.50-60 lakh daily. The balance will be credited to their outstanding,” sources said.
When contacted, an airline official refused to comment on the issue. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on supplier-partner relationship. However, we would like to reassure all our guests that all our flights will continue to operate as normal as per the revised schedule published on our website,” Prakash Mirpuri, Vice-President, Corporate Communications of Kingfisher Airlines said.
