Ajit Singh rules out cancelling Kingfisher’s licence
February 23rd, 2012 - 4:46 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh Thursday ruled out cancelling the licence of Kingfisher Airlines even as the carrier continued to curtail its daily flight operations due to a cash crunch, an exodus of pilots and operational reasons.
“We don’t want Kingfisher to shut down. We do not have any plans to cancel Kingfisher’s licence. An airline can operate until it has at least five planes in its fleet,” Singh told reporters here.
The development comes as the cash-strapped airline continued to curtail its operations for the sixth consecutive day Thursday.
Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the regulator has received the airline’s new schedule via an e-mail and was studying it.
The regulator is probing the large-scale cancellations and whether financial constraints have in any way compromised passenger safety.
According to sources, the airline has violated Rule 140 of the Aircraft Rules by not seeking prior approval of the regulator before curtailing its schedule for the second time since last year.
With 28 planes, the regulator estimates that Kingfisher would only be able to operate about 175 flights each week, down from its revised 240 operations per day.
The regulator is also said to be screening the airlines’ operational aircraft to find their airworthiness and if financial constraints have in any way compromised passenger safety.
The airline’s latest trouble started Feb 18 when its employees in Kolkata went on a flash strike. The carrier, on the other hand, blames the seizure of its bank accounts by the Income Tax department as the main reason for flight plan curtailment.
Kingfisher has a debt of Rs.7,057.08 crore. The company’s net loss widened to Rs.444.26 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, from Rs.253.69 crore in the October-December quarter in the last fiscal.
- Will not close down Kingfisher due to losses: Ajit Singh - Feb 29, 2012
- Decision on Kingfisher's new flight schedule Monday: DGCA - Feb 26, 2012
- Kingfisher Airlines denies shutdown rumours (Lead) - Mar 04, 2012
- Kingfisher cancels 30 flights, submits new schedule (Lead) - Feb 22, 2012
- Kingfisher cuts flights to fend off debt, banks plan lifeline (Roundup) - Feb 22, 2012
- Government awaiting DGCA report on Kingfisher: Ajit Singh - Mar 21, 2012
- Kingfisher cancels 20 flights, passengers take the hit - Feb 22, 2012
- No international operations until transaction suspension revoked: Mallya - Mar 21, 2012
- Mallya summoned by DGCA to explain Kingfisher status - Mar 19, 2012
- No government bailout for Kingfisher: Ajit Singh (Lead) - Feb 20, 2012
- More Kingfisher flights hit, government rules out bailout (Roundup) - Feb 20, 2012
- Kingfisher suspends flights to many cities, asks staff to stay home - Mar 27, 2012
- Kingfisher blames bird hits for disruptions, DGCA orders probe (Lead) - Feb 19, 2012
- 'Kingfisher Airlines asked to pay Rs.60 crore service tax' - Apr 04, 2012
- Kingfisher Airlines no longer UB subsidiary - May 10, 2012
Tags: airworthiness, ajit singh, bank accounts, cash crunch, civil aviation, crore, curtailment, dgca, directorate general, e mail, financial constraints, flash strike, flight operations, flight plan, kingfisher, kingfisher airlines, operational aircraft, operational reasons, passenger safety, seizure