In a major development, fuel supply to national carrier Air India was stopped at 6 airports Thursday. The decision by state-owned oil marketing firms came over Air India's non-payment of dues at some airports.
The airports at which the fuel supply to Air India was stopped are - Ranchi, Mohali, Patna, Vizag, Pune and Cochin.
Meanwhile, discussions to resolve the matter are underway, with the OMCs.
Air India has already paid Rs 60 crore as a lump sum, an airline official said.
Earlier in July, Air India had reported a 35 per cent slump in net profit at Rs 169 crore in the year ended March 2019, mainly on account of higher costs, even as it remained profitable for the fourth straight year. In 2017-18, the carrier had posted a net profit of Rs 262 crore.
The low-cost arm of national carrier Air India recorded over 16 per cent growth in revenues at Rs 4,202 crore in 2018-19. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 3,620 crore, it said in a release.
The net profit earned in the last fiscal is particularly significant as the aviation sector has had to face many challenges, including high input costs. The unit cost incurred on fuel alone, increased by around 35 per cent during this period.
"The impact of this on profitability was huge, as more than 40 per cent of the airline's operating cost was incurred on fuel," Air India Express CEO K Shyam Sundar had said.
According to him, the profit was mainly due to greater utilisation of assets and resources like aircraft, manpower and materials.
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