Kingfisher Airlines licence May be Cancelled
The aviation minister Ajit Singh has warned that the Kingfisher Airline's licence may be cancelled. The government is considering the move to cancel the airline's licence, if safety norms and financial viability conditions are not met.
Kingfisher Airlines, which has debt of $1.3 billion, is struggling to raise funds as banks have refused to lend more for day-to-day operations. Lately, Kingfisher has drastically scaled back its operations. The cutback in flights has reduced its revenue, leaving the carrier with little cash to pay its employees, airports and tax authorities.
Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant liquor baron who owns a majority of Kingfisher, was due to meet the aviation regulator later on Tuesday or on Wednesday to talk about a turnaround plan for the airline. "If he gives a plan and says I have that many planes, that much schedule, then why should we cancel?" Singh said. "The problem is, last two-three months, he has given several plans and he has not adhered to any of them," Singh said.
Last week, Mallya assured its employees of a full recovery plan in place in 2-3 days to address its financial issues and restore dozens of flights. It recently also scaled back its money-losing long haul international flights to cut costs. There are no provisions for companies to declare themselves legally bankrupt in India.