Kingfisher Airlines shifts booking date to October 20

NEW DELHI: Kingfisher Airlines has moved its booking timetable on its website to October 20, with a prominent disclaimer warning, “All flights are subject to regulatory approval” . The cash-strapped carrier, which has not paid salaries to its employees for the past seven months, had grounded operations from October 1, in the wake of employees’ unrest and decided to take bookings from October 5, which was deferred to October 8 and then to October 12. DGCA has issued a show cause notice asking the debtladen airline to reply by October 20.

“It will be presumed that you have nothing to say in your defence and suitable action, as deemed fit, shall be taken against your organisation exparte,” the notice read. However, while civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has made it clear that the airline cannot take off without convincing the government of a sustainable recovery plan, which should include payment of salary dues, the airline has all of a sudden opened bookings without intimation to aviation watchdog DGCA.

“A few more people have brought this to my notice (on KFA opening bookings). We will write to them to stop this,” Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) head Arun Mishra had told ET, earlier this week. Earlier, close on the heels of the aviation regulator asking Kingfisher Airlines to stop selling tickets until its revival plan is approved, CEO Sanjay Agarwal has written a desperate letter to its employees.

“Given the pain that all of you and your families have gone through over the past year due to delay in payment of salaries, we can only tell you in utmost sincerity that this situation pains us immensely too,” the letter begins. However, the letter does not include any details on if and when employees will be paid their salaries, which has been delayed since March 2012.

It also does not offer any statement from the airline’s promoter and chairman Vijay Mallya. In the letter, Agarwal has beseeched employees to rejoin work so that Kingfisher Airlines can resume operations from October 13.