Kingfisher revival plan suffers major setback
12 Jan 2013
Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya's plans to restart the airline's operations, suffered a major setback yesterday with lender banks and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) not impressed by the revival plan involving a mere Rs650 crore.
Mail Today quoted a top DGCA official as saying that a meager Rs650 crore revival plan of KFA could not be relied upon when the carrier was burdened with a loss of Rs8,000 crore and a debt burden of another Rs7,524 crore, a large part of which had not been serviced since January last year.
The official added, Kingfisher's planned investment of Rs650 crore was not enough to restart operations. He added, the revival plan did not guarantee reliable service and there were a lot of issues regarding lenders, staff payment which it was felt may not lead to reliable services.
He added, it was required that the airline operate in a consistent, efficient and reliable manner.
He said the plan had no provision for airport dues adding that there should be no inconvenience to passengers.
Meanwhile, Mallya's claim the airline taking to the skies again by summer in a letter sent to employees on Thursday has been debunked by senior officials of the aviation ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) according to media reports.
They said the 'unsatisfactory' restart plan submitted by the airline management last month and Mallya's latest letter remained silent on funding and clearing all dues, including employees' salary.