New Delhi: The management of grounded Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) made a desperate plea to the aviation ministry onThursday for restarting operations. While promising that it will pay May salary to employees (which were to be paid before Diwali) within a week, KFA CEO Sanjay Agarwal has requested aviation secretary K N Shrivastava to ask airport operators not to insist on full payment of dues as a precondition for restarting operations.
Both the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the GVK-backed Mumbai Airport had earlier written to DGCA not to allow KFA to fly again till their dues are cleared entirely. GMR-backed Delhi airport has filed criminal cases against KFA for bounced cheques. Agarwal in his letter to Shrivastava on Thursday has said that the airline is in talks to restructure loans with the SBI-led consortia of lenders to KFA.
KFA has debt of over Rs 8,000 crore and accumulated losses of Rs 9,000 crore. The CEO has thanked the aviation ministry for not giving KFA's slots to other airlines despite the fact that it has not operated any flight since October 1 and its licence is suspended. "Agarwal has admitted that had the slots been given away, the airline would find it even more difficult to find an investor," said sources.
16/11/12 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
