With Kingfisher Airlines' ( KFA) financial stress refusing to go away, the government has sounded a warning to the cash-strapped airline. Aviation minister Ajit Singh on Friday said that if the DGCA feels the airline's inability to pay staff could affect safety or if Airports Authority of India ( AAI) refuses more credit to the airline, its licence could be suspended.
'Closing an airline will impact passengers, employees... So cancellation of licence won't happen. Suspension, however, gives a chance to restart operations once the issues have been sorted out,' Mr Singh, who has asked DGCA to ensure complete safety on KFA's aircraft, said.
This is the first time that the ministry has issued a warning to KFA, which on Thursday saw its long-unpaid technicians go on strike for a while. In January, the DGCA's financial audit had concluded that 'a reasonable case exists for withdrawal of their ( KFA's) licence as their financial stress is likely to impinge on safety' .
About two years ago, the ministry had for the first time ever suspended the licences of two airlines - MDLR and Paramount - for not meeting regulatory requirements. These two can begin operations as and when they comply with norms.
On Friday, the DGCA approved the KFA 's truncated daily schedule of 175 domestic and 24 international flights based on a fleet of 28 airworthy aircraft. 'We are monitoring very closely if KFA adheres to this schedule or not. A special daily safety oversight is being maintained on all its aircraft,' said a senior DGCA official. AAI has not been getting even the daily cash-and-carry payment from KFA for almost a week.
While KFA - along with Air India - may be suffering from questionable management decisions for years, Ajit Singh admits that the entire aviation industry is facing serious challenges . 'There is no question of giving a bailout to any private airline by asking banks to lend more to it. But some industry-specific issues are going to be addressed in coming days,' he said.
Aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and his finance and oil ministry counterparts will soon begin a dialogue on working capital requirement and giving bank guarantees for jet fuel supply. While Indian aviation is passing through a very critical phase, these issues are still not getting the required priority. For instance, no date has been fixed for the meeting of group of secretaries. More importantly, the aviation ministry cleared its stand of allowing foreign airlines to pick up to 49% stake in domestic airlines but the proposal is yet to gather momentum.
Temporary grounding:
First time the aviation ministry has warned KFA Stresses licence won't be cancelled outright as government doesn't want passengers, employees to be impacted tSuspension, however, gives a chance to restart operations once the issues have been sorted out.
....more info
'Closing an airline will impact passengers, employees... So cancellation of licence won't happen. Suspension, however, gives a chance to restart operations once the issues have been sorted out,' Mr Singh, who has asked DGCA to ensure complete safety on KFA's aircraft, said.
This is the first time that the ministry has issued a warning to KFA, which on Thursday saw its long-unpaid technicians go on strike for a while. In January, the DGCA's financial audit had concluded that 'a reasonable case exists for withdrawal of their ( KFA's) licence as their financial stress is likely to impinge on safety' .
About two years ago, the ministry had for the first time ever suspended the licences of two airlines - MDLR and Paramount - for not meeting regulatory requirements. These two can begin operations as and when they comply with norms.
On Friday, the DGCA approved the KFA 's truncated daily schedule of 175 domestic and 24 international flights based on a fleet of 28 airworthy aircraft. 'We are monitoring very closely if KFA adheres to this schedule or not. A special daily safety oversight is being maintained on all its aircraft,' said a senior DGCA official. AAI has not been getting even the daily cash-and-carry payment from KFA for almost a week.
While KFA - along with Air India - may be suffering from questionable management decisions for years, Ajit Singh admits that the entire aviation industry is facing serious challenges . 'There is no question of giving a bailout to any private airline by asking banks to lend more to it. But some industry-specific issues are going to be addressed in coming days,' he said.
Aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and his finance and oil ministry counterparts will soon begin a dialogue on working capital requirement and giving bank guarantees for jet fuel supply. While Indian aviation is passing through a very critical phase, these issues are still not getting the required priority. For instance, no date has been fixed for the meeting of group of secretaries. More importantly, the aviation ministry cleared its stand of allowing foreign airlines to pick up to 49% stake in domestic airlines but the proposal is yet to gather momentum.
Temporary grounding:
First time the aviation ministry has warned KFA Stresses licence won't be cancelled outright as government doesn't want passengers, employees to be impacted tSuspension, however, gives a chance to restart operations once the issues have been sorted out.
....more info