Dubai: India’s Supreme Court has made a decisive intervention by staying a lower court order requiring SpiceJet to wind up its operations after the airline failed to clear its dues with a Swiss aviation firm.
“The Supreme Court has today stayed the Madras High Court order against SpiceJet to facilitate settlement between SpiceJet and Credit Suisse,” said a spokesperson at the budget airline. “Both parties are already in advanced discussions to settle the matter.”
Last month, the Madras High Court ordered the winding up of SpiceJet and asked the official liquidator to take over the low-cost airline’s assets in a case related to non-payment of unpaid dues worth $24 million to Credit Suisse AG, which is mandated to receive pending dues on behalf of Switzerland-based SR Technics. The airline reportedly failed to pay the amount to SR Technics for the maintenance and repair of aircraft engines, modules, components, assemblies, and parts under a contract dated November 24, 2011. In 2012, the MRO firm entered into a financing deal with Credit Suisse under which it assigned all its current and future rights to claim payments.
SpiceJet, which currently has a negative net worth of around $450 million, was co-founded by Ajay Singh in 2005. Over the following few years, the airline received investments from Tata Sons and a private equity firm led by billionaire Wilbur Ross.
