Various government departments owe Air India Ltd nearly ₹500 crore towards VVIP charter flights at a time the national carrier is struggling financially. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the government’s total dues on account of airfares for VVIP flights stood at ₹498.17 crore at the end of 31 December. Air India has just borrowed ₹225 crore through a short-term loan facility from domestic lenders to refinance an earlier loan.
“Usually, the credit period for government of India departments varies from 15 to 30 days from the receipt of invoice and no interest is paid to Air India in case of non-payment within the credit period,” Puri said in the upper house of the parliament.