Kingfisher Airlines gets time till Wednesday to revise schedules

New Delhi, Feb.21 (ANI): The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday gave the crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines time till Wednesday to come up with a revised and a clear schedule for the aircraft that it is still operating.

Expressing deep concern over Kingfisher Airlines' flight disruptions, DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan said the airline is currently operating 28 of its 64 planes.

"The regulator also has ordered a special safety surveillance on Kingfisher, he said, added that there were no problems or worries about aircraft safety.

Expressing concern about Kingfisher employees' salaries, Bhushan said: "Kingfisher had given a time schedule for the payment of salary of its employees but I deeply regret that this has not happened."

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said the top executives of the embattled airline would need to do some serious explaining as it had skirted the rules by not informing the DGCA about the proposed flight cancellations.

"The DGCA has asked explanation because the passengers (of Kingfisher Airlines) were not informed, the DGCA was not informed and that is against the rules. That, as you say, causes inconvenience to passengers. So, we have to hear Kingfisher," said Singh.

Kingfisher, controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, has cancelled 32 out of the 240 flights that it operates each day.

Banks own about a quarter of cash-strapped Kingfisher, which has so far been unable to attract fresh equity amid growing worries about its future.

Kingfisher, named after the country's most famous beer, lost 4.4 billion rupees in the fiscal third quarter that ended in December. (ANI)