An Indian court said on Wednesday that bankruptcy petitions filed by aircraft lessors against cash-strapped SpiceJet will be heard afresh by a new bench, after the airline reached a last-minute settlement with one lessor.
The move is a setback to aircraft leasing companies that have waged a years-long battle against India’s fourth-largest airline to recover debts, but is a reprieve for SpiceJet as its existing management will remain in control of the airline while the insolvency petitions are reconsidered.
The National Company Law Tribunal had prepared a judgment covering eight petitions against SpiceJet, but said the withdrawal of one of the petitions following the settlement meant the ruling would have to be rewritten.
With one member of the current judges panel due to retire on Wednesday, the tribunal said there was not enough time to rewrite and deliver the judgment, a judge said. SpiceJet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The total amount currently claimed by SpiceJet’s lessors was not immediately clear. SpiceJet’s finances have been under stress, with the airline delaying salary payments to many of its pilots, Reuters reported in June.
Its marketshare sank to just 1.9 per cent in June this year, down from about 15 per cent in 2019, and it has received financing under a government-backed credit programme to stabilise operations.
