Air India has been put on cash-and-carry mode by Mumbai Airport authorities after its dues mounted to Rs 450 crore even as the airline today said it has paid about Rs 40 crore and certain outstandings were yet to be reconciled.
The GVK-led Mumbai International Airport limited (MIAl), which runs the city airport, yesterday communicated its decision to the Air India management, MIAl sources said, adding that the airline has been "put on cash-and-carry mode as it has failed to clear the dues in the required time". Normally, airlines use airport services on credit but when the dues mount, they are asked instead to pay cash on a daily basis for availing the facilities.
The dues relate to various airport charges like those for landing, navigation, parking and other services, which an airline has to pay to the airport operator.
The national carrier, the sources said, has been told to pay at least Rs 200 crore by June if it wanted to be taken off from the cash-and-carry mode. "As of now their cumulative dues stand at Rs 450 crore," they said.Discounting this, senior Air India officials told the news agency that the airline had paid Rs 650 crore to GMR-led Delhi International Airport limited (DIAl) and over Rs 100 crore to MIAl in 2013-14 to clear its backlog.