Brink of collapse: Kingfisher may get its permit revoked

MUMBAI: India’s civil aviation regulator on Friday issued a notice to cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, which has grounded its fleet since Monday, asking why its licence should not be cancelled. A crippling strike by employees who have not received salaries for seven months forced the airline, which is teetering on the brink of financial collapse, to cancel all its flights for at least another week. The debt-laden carrier has 15 days to respond to the notice, the regulator said, saying Kingfisher must be able to offer a “safe, efficient and reliable service” or face the possibility of losing its flying permit. The carrier has been desperately scouting for a foreign airline to pump in fresh capital to keep it flying but analysts were doubtful any carrier will want to take an equity stake in the troubled company. The company was India’s second-largest airline until a year ago but now it has a market share of just 3.2%.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2012.