United Airlines ordered to pay $4.7 million to Denver Int'l Airport DENVER (AP) =97 Bankrupt United Airlines must pay Denver International=20 Airport $4.7 million in fees it collected from travelers on behalf of the=20 airport, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago has ruled. The funds had=20 already been collected by the airline but were not passed on to the airport= =20 when United filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, Denver officials said=20 Thursday. "United recognized that the money wasn't theirs," said Vicki=20 Braunagel, deputy manager of aviation for the airport. "The funds will be=20 collected shortly, and are not considered part of the bankruptcy estate."=20 The passenger facility charges are collected by airlines and given to=20 airports on a monthly basis. They are used for general airport projects.=20 United spokeswoman Chris Nardella confirmed the order to pay the fees, but= =20 wouldn't say if it affected any other airports. She didn't know when the=20 fees would be paid to Denver. United also reportedly owes millions to=20 airports in Albuquerque, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, San Francisco and=20 Washington, D.C. United is the largest carrier at Denver. Its bankruptcy filing was the=20 largest of its type in aviation history. The nation's No. 2 airline has=20 lost $4 billion in the last two years amid a slumping economy, flawed=20 business strategies and last year's terrorist attacks. At the time of the filing, United owed Denver about $12.6 million,=20 including $4.8 million in landing fees, $3.1 million in facility rentals=20 and the $4.7 million in passenger facility charges for the month of=20 November through Dec. 8, the airport said. The airport has performance=20 bonds from United totaling $3.5 million that may be drawn upon to pay some= =20 of the unpaid amounts. At Albuquerque International Sunport, United operates two gates and has six= =20 daily flights out of the city. City Aviation Director Dewey Cave said=20 United pays the airport between $140,000 and $150,000 a month. "In fact,=20 United is one of the better payers," Cave said. "All indications we're=20 getting from corporate are that they will continue to pay as usual." The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************