Kingfisher Airlines curtails overseas operations

Kingfisher Airlines, which is gasping for survival amidst severe financial and operational stress, has said that it is curtailing its international operations. The airline was flying to eight international destinations ranging from neighbouring countries to London.

"We  are curtailing our wide body overseas operations that are bleeding heavily. To this end, we have already returned one Airbus A 330-200 to the lessor in the UK. Positive and immediate action is being taken on all fronts to cut costs," a statement from Kingfisher said.

Kingfisher Airlines later announced further reduction in its flight schedule and said its promoter Vijay Mallya will tomorrow meet pilots agitating over delayed salary.

Last month the company had informed the authorities that it will be operating 140 flights daily.

However, Kingfisher said that 'despite the shortage of crew' it operated 101 flights yesterday and will operate 101 flights today.

The company once again has stated external factors as reasons for its current state of affairs. "We request one and all to appreciate the serious handicaps we face not only because of our frozen accounts but because of the operating environment. We are working hard to resolve the issues that confront us given the current environment," the statement added.

Kingfisher has also been suspended from the IATA network as pending dues were not paid, the result of which load factors have been plumetting.

The company' bank accounts have been frozen by the tax authorities as service tax has not been paid. " We continue to work with the tax authorities to arrive at a solution to de-freeze our accounts as early as possible," the statement added. However, tax authorities told Business Standard that they are working to recover as much dues as possible as they are working against a worst case scenario. Kingfisher owes close to Rs 400 crore to the tax authorities.