Troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co.’s airline businesses have started paying back overdue jet-fuel bills, though they have yet to settle the amount owed in full, a state-owned supplier said.
The supplier, China National Aviation Fuel Group, continues to provide fuel to HNA Group’s airlines under existing contracts, a spokesman for CNAF said Friday. Chinese aviation authorities had asked the airlines to pay overdue bills, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said this week.
HNA Group’s Hainan Air said Friday that jet fuel supply from CNAF remains normal, declining to comment further beyond its earlier statement that the airline prioritizes passengers’ interest and that it maintains safe and stable operations to ensure smooth travel.