Delhi high court orders SpiceJet to pay $2.67 mn to engine lessor within a week | Company Business News

The Delhi high court on Thursday ordered budget airline SpiceJet to pay $2.67 million to Team France within a week for using the aircraft lessor’s three engines. The payment is part of a larger outstanding default of $6 million owed by the airline.

Justice Anish Dayal, presiding over a single bench, also instructed SpiceJet to deposit an additional $335,999 with the court registrar within three weeks. 

SpiceJet’s chairman and managing director Ajay Singh, along with chief financial officer Joyakesh Podder, who was present in the courtroom, gave an undertaking to pay the amounts. This was in response to a summons issued by the court in December 2024, requiring the SpiceJet executives to appear in person.

SpiceJet had requested the court to allow them to settle the default by issuing listed shares of the company, citing a cash crunch.

The court was hearing an application from aircraft engine lessor Team France 01 SAS, which sought enforcement of a consent order passed on May 29. This order had directed SpiceJet to pay $6,03,870.82 to the lessor.

Legal action had been initiated by Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS in December 2023 due to unpaid dues exceeding $20 million, although SpiceJet now owes approximately $6 million.

In May, the court had made an interim arrangement requiring SpiceJet to pay the outstanding $4.8 million, along with additional weekly payments, for the use of the engines. However, the airline defaulted on these payments, leading the court to direct it to ground three aircraft engines and return them to the lessors.

On 14 August, the court ordered SpiceJet to ground the engines by 16 August and return them for inspection within 15 days. Despite this, SpiceJet failed to make the required payments, and the engines were returned by November under court orders, but the default remained unpaid.

In recent times, SpiceJet has been resolving various disputes with aircraft lessors and other creditors. The airline has used its internal cash flows to meet statutory obligations, such as employee provident fund and TDS payments, since October. The airline recently announced that it had cleared employee provident fund dues totaling ₹160.07 crore.