Air India has warned the Prime Minister’s workplace (PMO) and also the finance ministry that the country’s sovereign rating could also be hit because the airline is on the brink of defaulting on interest payments on foreign loans of Rs fifteen,000 crore. The loans are backed by a government guarantee.
The state-owned airline had taken these loans to part-fund its Rs twenty two,000-crore aircraft acquisition programme. The banks concerned embody Citibank, customary Chartered, Deutsche Bank, J P Morgan and KFW.
In a communication to PMO and also the finance ministry sent many days ago, the Air India management pegged the overdue quantity at Rs four,489 crore, as well as payments to grease corporations, airport operators, vendors and workers, besides interest on operating capital loans.