Kingfisher cancels 30 flights as pilots strike work again

Debt-stricken carrier Kingfisher Airlines was forced to cancel over 30 flights today after pilots and engineers failed to show up for work due to unpaid salaries. The airline's shares fell to a new record low of Rs8.61 with the news.

The cancellations come as a fresh blow to the debt-laden airline, which had been hit by a series of similar strikes in recent months and the huge amounts of money it owed to banks, suppliers and staff.

Around 22 flights originating in New Delhi were cancelled, as also nine from Mumbai.

Kingfisher, which has $1.4 billion in debts, has been forced cut its fleet of aircraft and halt international operations in a bid to pare costs.

Rivals such as Jet Airways and low-cost carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo, which have been quick to seize the opportunity, raised ticket fares and attracted new passenger traffic.

Last week, Jet and SpiceJet both posted unexpected quarterly profits, which led to upgrades by some brokerage firms.