Airlines and other airport service operators, which have issued cheques amounting to Rs7.23 crore to AAI’s Southern Region, have bounced. AAI is silent about it

Airlines such as Air India, JetLite, Paramount Airways, along with other parties operating at the airport, which have issued cheques amounting to Rs7.23 crore to airports under the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) Southern Region, bounced. The information furnished under a Right to Information (RTI) application.

The RTI application was filed by Pune-based activist Sanjay Shirodkar with AAI’s Southern region, to seek the details of cheques it received from 2000, which later bounced. According to the reply, 25 cheques from 2006 till today, amounting to Rs5.8 crore, which were issued to Chennai and other airports controlled by it, got bounced. Mangalore airport received seven cheques of a total amount of Rs1.7 crore issued on 15th September 2009 by Air India which were dishonoured, while Hyderabad Airport was issued one cheque of Rs1.6 lakh, by Air Deccan, which bounced.

“I don’t know if the amount has been recovered, compounded or settled. But I pity the aviation sector. While the ministry of civil aviation is talking about modernisation of all airports, there seems to be no co-operation in paying the fees by the airlines and other parties for using the airport,” says Mr Shirodkar.

According to the list, Paramount Airways issued three cheques in 2007 and 2009 for a total amount of Rs4.1 crore, which bounced. Interestingly, Paramount, which was started in 2005, had to shut its operation two years ago after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had de-registered its three planes. The action came after the airline was embroiled in payment battle with GE Capital Aviation Service and Celestial Aviation Trading, its lessors. Paramount was the only airline to offer business class service at a cost which at price in par with the fares of economy class of other airlines.

The RTI reply also revealed that Air India issued eight such cheques of Rs1.7 crore, Air India Express issued seven cheques of Rs95 lakh, while JetLite issued five cheques amounting Rs28 lakh which bounced.

The national carrier Air India is also in deep financial turmoil. Recently the union government announced a financial restructuring plan for Air India where Rs30,000 crore will be infused in the carrier till 2020. The same goes for JetLite. According to a report, Jet Airways has phased out its low-cost service JetLite, which was launched in 2007 and rechristened it as JetKonnect—another low-cost brand. In the third quarter of FY11-12 Jet Airways lost Rs101 crore while JetLite had a loss of Rs21 crore. The financial crisis is the main reason for merging the low-cost brands.

An RTI application filed by Mr Shirodkar revealed that that Kingfisher Airlines had issued five cheques amounting Rs122 crore between August 25, 2011 and February 21, 2012 to the AAI which bounced due to insufficient funds. According to news reports, the AAI had not initiated any action against the airline.

Mr Shirodkar had also sought the list of instances of cheque issued to Pune and Ahemdabad airports, which were dishonoured.

According to the list, from 2000 to 2012, the Ahemdabad airport received cheques which later bounced from airlines such as Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, SpiceJet, Indigo Airlines, and others like Flemingo Duty Free Shop, Blue Dart Aviation, Akbar Travels, etc. Interestingly, the reply received from the AAI relating to cheques received by the Pune airport which were dishonoured did not include a single airline company name but only included other parties operating at the airport providing services such as PK Hospitality Services, Mercury Car Rentals Service.