Kingfisher airlines crisis: 130 pilots quit, 149 flights cancelled

New Delhi: The actual reason for the huge chaos among Kingfisher flyers across India became apparent on Thursday as the airline put its figures on the table.
While Kingfisher claimed it was cancelling 50 flights every day till November 19, in reality, it operated only 269 flights of its allocated winter schedule of 418 daily flights on Thursday.
A shocking 149 flights - 36% of its daily allocated schedule - were not operated. Officially, Kingfisher has said that it has cancelled flights to reconfigure its Airbus A-320 aircraft. However, it is learnt that around 130 pilots have quit the cash-strapped carrier in the past few weeks. Also, airport operators, oil companies and vendors of all imaginable items have massive dues running with Kingfisher and are demanding that owner Vijay Mallya pay up. Given the shortage of crew and funds, the airline has truncated its schedule, perhaps opting to "fly less and spend less".
When contacted in Dubai, Mallya did not comment on the disparity in the cancellations. He is learnt to have assured the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that he would explain the cancellations. The truth on Kingfisher's actual operations came to light as DGCA directed all the airlines to submit the actual number of flights they would operate on Thursday against their winter schedule quota.
11/11/11 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Kingfisher Nov 2011