Tribunal rules in favour of lenders in Kingfisher loan default case - TV

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A tribunal in Bengaluru has ruled in favour of a group of creditor banks seeking to recover more than $1 billion in loans now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes them, television channels reported on Thursday.

Kingfisher, once India's second-biggest airline and controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, stopped flying in October 2012, leaving creditors, suppliers and employees unpaid.

Mallya, a flamboyant former billionaire, moved to Britain in March last year after being pursued in courts by the banks. The Indian authorities have sought ways to have Mallya, who denies being an absconder, deported by Britain.

The lenders have also separately appealed to India's Supreme Court for the recovery of their loans to Kingfisher.

($1 = 68.1700 Indian rupees)

(Writing by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)