Shares of Spicejet tumbled nearly 13 per cent today amid reports that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to withdraw credit facility to the low-cost carrier.
Following the buzz, SpiceJet stock plunged 12.7 per cent to Rs 16.15 on the BSE.
As per media reports, the move has been spurred by the mounting dues that the airline has to pay the AAI.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathy Raju, had yesterday said that the airline sector is running through a “lot of turbulent weather” with troubled SpiceJet seeming to give “us heart attacks’’.
“We are running through a lot of turbulent weather...not only the public sector, private sector is also crashing.
(With) Kingfisher crashing and, right now, SpiceJet seems to be giving us heart attacks as far as airlines are concerned,” Raju had said in New Delhi yesterday.
The minister’s comment comes against the backdrop of industrialist Kalanithi Maran’s budget carrier SpiceJet curtailing its operations by reducing both flights and fleet, citing fund crunch.
The airline has reported fifth straight quarter of net losses for the July-September period at Rs 310 crore which is down from Rs 559 crore net loss during the corresponding period last year.