The Airports Authority of India (AAI), on Friday, said it would release the deregistered leased aircraft of grounded Kingfisher Airlines for the lessors only after a formal nod from the Civil Aviation Ministry.
"The Ministry is yet to take a call on releasing the aircraft to the leasing companies and the matter is under consideration," AAI Chariman V.P. Aggarwal said, addressing reporters here.
The International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) had asked India to release their six planes, sitting idle at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, after they were impounded by Service Tax department and others as Kingfisher Airlines failed to pay them their due taxes. ILFC had said that India's failure to return leased planes to their owners could put the country's aviation growth at risk by scaring off funding.
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