Kingfisher Airlines grounds 15 aircraft, stock down

Beleagured Kingfisher Airlines has grounded 15 aircraft after the Indian carrier was unable to meet maintenance and overhaul expenses, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing an industry person familiar with the development.

The aircraft include the wide-bodied A330s used for long hauls, and the company’s active fleet has come down to 40 from 69 at the end of 2010, the newspaper said.

[caption id=“attachment_159454” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya. Reuters”]  [/caption]

About 140 pilots have put in their papers and 11 have left without the loss-making carrier giving them a clearance, it said.

A Kingfisher spokesman declined to comment on the report.

More from Business

Hyundai India’s Rs 27,870 crore IPO oversubscribed by 2.28X, largely driven by institutional investors How Indian fintech startups are driving Malaysia’s UPI-like digital payments revolution

Cash-strapped Kingfisher, which cut flights and loss-making routes in November, is struggling to raise funds to continue operations and repay debt.

The airline’s request for additional working capital from its lenders is still pending with the banks.

State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhury has said efforts were being made by banks to make Kingfisher viable, the Press Trust of India reported.

Reuters