Take stakeholders on board, Kingfisher told

Aviation regulator DGCA Friday asked Kingfisher Airlines management to take on board its stakeholders in the revival plan to ensure safety in operations before the suspension of its flying license was revoked.

DGCA chief Arun Mishra said he would talk to the cash-strapped airline's stakeholders to ascertain whether it would be able to operate in a sustainable manner, official sources said.

The direction came after Kingfisher CEO Sanjay Aggarwal met with Mishra today to discuss revival plans, a day after the airline resolved the 26-day-old deadlock over salary dues with its striking employees.

All the stakeholders like Airports Authority of India, other airport operators, oil companies and maintenance, repairing and overhaul operators should be taken on board for supporting the airline's revival plan, the sources said.

They said the liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned airlines has been asked to start meetings with officials in the DGCA headquarters here and regional offices on operational and airworthiness issues.

During the meeting, Mishra also directed the airline to prepare its winter schedule and file the same considering the number of aircraft available with them for operations.

Before the airline was grounded on September 30, Kingfisher had 10 operational aircraft -- seven Airbus A-320s and three ATR turboprops, and is likely to get one more soon after it completes the mandatory and elaborate 'C-checks'.

When DGCA expressed concern about the airline's financial health as it was not going to get any money either from its lenders or its banks, Kingfisher officials informed the regulator that they would be arranging funds for operations through internal resources.