India’s TruJet reaches deal with lessors to reactivate ATRs

TruJet (2T, Hyderabad Int’l) hopes to resume a full flying schedule having reached deals with lessors covering overdue payments and future rates for five out of its seven turboprops. “TruJet has cleared its past dues and has further negotiated the lease agreements with the lessors. Negotiations with one have reached an agreement while the conversations with the other lessor are still ongoing,” a source told The Hindu Business Line. According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, the Indian regional specialist operates five ATR72-500s and two ATR72-600s. Three -500s are dry-leased from Elix Aviation Capital, two from Aergo Capital, and the two -600s from DAE Capital. The airline has only been operating the two -500s leased from Aergo Capital, VT-TMM (msn 825) and VT-TMN (msn 843) in recent days, although the former was reactivated on September 3 after a period of storage, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The other five aircraft have been stored since at least mid-July 2020. At that time, The Hindu broke the news that all five were grounded by the respective lessors over non-payment of debts. TruJet’s debts to lessors stood at around INR2.7 billion rupees (USD36.8 million) in mid-2020, when the aircraft were grounded. The airline currently deploys one ATR to western India connecting Ahmedabad, Nashik, Porbandar, Kandla, and Jalgaon, while the other one plies services in central India out of Hyderabad Int’l.