DGCA issues show cause notice to Kingfisher Airlines

In more trouble for Kingfisher Airlines, aviation regulator DGCA on Friday issued a show-cause notice asking why its flying license should not be suspended or cancelled as it had grounded its entire fleet and failed to offer safe and reliable service.

With the liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned airline having declared a lockout till October 12, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the notice to the crisis-ridden carrier, giving it 15 days to reply.

In the notice, DGCA Chief Arun Mishra said it had been observed that the airline was not adhering to its flight schedule and "abruptly cancelling their flights time and again during the last 10 months", causing great inconvenience to the travelling public.

He also took note of the lockout which had led to "suspension of all their flights" and that the airline had "failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable services as required" under the rules.

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He said the aviation regulator was studying the implications of the strike by the employees of the airline, which has grounded the fleet for safety reasons.

In Delhi and Mumbai, angry staff of the liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned airline staged protest demonstrations wearing black-bands and carrying placards, to demand speedy disbursal of their dues.

Their protests came in the backdrop of suicide committed by the wife of a Kingfisher employee in national capital on Thursday, apparently due to financial stress due to non-payment of salaries.

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"There are a lot of factors involved in it, including the salaries of the employees, their disgruntlement issues and others. If the employees are disgruntled there is an issue of safety. In order to give them permission to fly, they have to satisfy the DGCA on all these issues," he said.

In Delhi and Mumbai, the angry staff of the liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned airline staged protest demonstrations wearing black-bands and carrying placards, to demand speedy disbursal of their dues.

In the evening, they held a candle-light vigil in Delhi to condole the death of the wife of a Kingfisher employee who committed suicide yesterday, apparently because of financial stress due to non-payment of salaries.