Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has cancelled six departure slots of Kingfisher Airlines. The cancelled slots have been given to IndiGo Airlines.
Kingfisher Airlines operations are shut since last October and its air operating permit too lapsed in December. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) which suspended the permit has refused to revoke suspension in absence of credible turnaround plan. The airline has not paid its employees since June and owes crores of rupees in dues to banks, airports and vendors.
Kingfisher had sixteen departure slots from Mumbai, eleven of them to Delhi. An MIAL spokesperson said six of the departure slots to Delhi have been cancelled and allocated to IndiGo. Other slots, too, will be handed upon demand from airlines.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) may follow suit and cancel the departure slots of Kingfisher. The airline owes Rs 220 crore to the AAI which has initiated legal proceedings to recover the dues. AAI Chairman VP Agrawal had also told the DGCA not to consider Kingfisher's plan to restart the operations until the airline gives a clear-cut plan to repay its dues.
Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Agarwal had submitted a plan to restart operations with Rs 650 crore fund infusion from the UB group. The airline hoped to start service with five Airbus and two ATR planes and gradually scale up the operations. However, DGCA and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh have not found the plan satisfactory as it gave no outline on clearance of dues.