Kingfisher Flights Held Up as HPCL Refuses to Refuel Aircraft

Several flights of the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines were grounded at Delhi and Mumbai airports for at least an hour on Monday as oil marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) refused to refuel the aircraft over non-payment of dues.  HPCL reportedly has . 500 crore in dues to be recovered from Kingfisher Airlines, according to senior industry officials. Later in the evening, an HPCL spokesperson told ET that "there was a minor issue with Kingfisher and that has been settled".  In 2009, another oil marketing company, BPCL, had dragged Kingfisher to court for non-payment of dues and had to recover money through legal process. BPCL had not disclosed the amount recovered. Though IOC has some exposure to Kingfisher they have put the airline on a cashand-carry for a long time now.  Kingfisher Airlines, which has been going through financial troubles, reportedly negotiated with the fuel supplier and was able to resume operations after about an hour. The flights resumed at about eight in the evening. "About eight to ten flights were impacted because of the delay," said sources at the Delhi International Airport.  Kingfisher has been trying to get investors to put money in the airline and is trying to raise $300 million in GDR.  Kingfisher Airlines and the airport officials did not comment on the matter.

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