NIOPDC to Implement Postponed Jet Fuel Payment Method

The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said it will implement its previously postponed method for domestic airlines’ jet fuel payment as of October 22.

IRNA quoted NIOPDC CEO Akhtar Esmaeilian as saying on Wednesday that airlines were bound to pay their overdue annual debt by September 21, but so far they have failed do so.

As of August 22, airlines were obliged to start paying for their fuel by wiring the cost of each refill to the bank accounts of the NIOPDC using ATM or POS machines. The plan was supposed to start at six airports to be later implemented at all airports across the country by mid-September.

The implementation of the plan, however, was later halted “until further notice pending further studies”, according to the secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, Maqsoud As’adi Samani.

So far, Iranian airlines have been paying for jet fuel on credit, settling their debts with NIOPDC every 10-15 days. NIOPDC’s move to change the payment system unleashed strong opposition among airlines as well as officials of the Iran Civil Aviation Organization.

In November 2015, NIOPDC put the amount of airlines’ overdue debts at 10 trillion rials ($282 million), but the AIA claims that as of March 20, all airlines, except one, had settled their burgeoning debts.