Kingfisher hits fresh turbulence, cancels flights

The deeply troubled Kingfisher Airlines Ltd was forced to cancel several flights today after some of its Mumbai-based pilots joined the strike called by the carrier's engineers on Sunday over non-payment of salaries.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's airline said it was cancelling flights today because it feared a number of its employees were unlikely to report for work due to threats from other workers.

"A section of employees of Kingfisher Airlines has not been reporting for work over the last fortnight and over the past two days, they have been threatening and even manhandling the other employees who are reporting for work," Kingfisher spokesman Prakash Mirpuri said in a press communique.

All Kingfisher flights scheduled to depart from the New Delhi airport until 4:30 p.m. have been cancelled, the airport's website showed.

The Mint newspaper reported that the airline's ground staff refused to attach an air bridge to a plane in Mumbai on Sunday, stranding passengers onboard, while some engineers beat up an executive.

Taking note of the situation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it will today review the airline's operations in the wake of mass cancellation of its flights.