NEW DELHI: Inform us about your dues before we allow unpaid lessors to repossess aircraft and fly them out of India, aviation regulator told government agencies. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday asked stakeholders like airport operators, fuel vendors, services tax, customs and income-tax departments to “notify DGCA regarding any dues which may be required to be paid off by the lessor/owner/operator before export permission is granted by DGCA.”
The move comes as several dozens of Jet Airways aircraft have been grounded by unpaid lessors. Many of these planes are the Boeing 737 NG (new generation, not MAX that are currently not allowed to fly anywhere globally due to safety concerns). The grounding of 371 B737 max globally has pushed up demand for the earlier or pre-MAX versions of the B737. While a few lessors are in talks to lease the B737s to SpiceJet, other want to fly them out of India to rent them to other airlines globally.
