While trouble seems to be mounting for Kingfisher Airlines there just might be some relief for the airline as it may have arrived at a settlement to cancel the non-bailable warrants served on chairman Vijay Mallya and four senior executives after GMR accused the company of dishourning Rs 10.5 crore of cheques issued towards user charges at the Hyderabad International Airport.
A report in the Economic Times says Kingfisher has cleared the dues to GMR. “Accordingly, the court has agreed to close the case and the warrants issued against Vijay Mallya and other senior Kingfisher Airlines officials were withdrawn” the GMR counsel told The Economic Times.
A non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against Mallya by a Hyderabad court last Friday in a case filed by airport operators GMR. Five more NBWs were issued in the name of Kingfisher Airlines‘ management as Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines owed more than Rs 40 crore to Delhi airport, which is run by GMR, and a cheque for Rs 10 crore issued by Kingfisher to GMR towards this payment had bounced.
PTI
Meanwhile the country’s civil aviation regulator on Wednesday rejected the winter schedule of the troubled Kingfisher Airlines.
Kingfisher on 12 October extended its lockout till October 20. The lockout was declared on Oct 1 after negotiations with striking employees failed amid reports that the airline was unable to pay employees full salaries since its lenders had refused fresh funding. The KFA management will be meeting striking pilots and engineers again on Monday in a bid to end the three-week imbroglio.
Earlier in the day, the KFA management, led by Chief Executive Sanjay Aggarwal and HR head Hitesh Patel met the representatives of pilots and engineers for nearly three hours at the Shaw Wallace House in south Mumbai to iron out issues arising out of seven months of unpaid salaries.According to some pilots, the management offered to pay one-month salary immediately to resume operations. But the employees have not accepted the proposal as of now.
The employees claim that non-payment of salaries has affected their morale and built up stress levels that can also affect operational safety.
Meanwhile, the DGCA, which had issued the notice “as the airline has failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable service”, said it was yet to receive any communication from the company.
As per Section 15(2)(b) of Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules 1937, the DGCA may cancel or suspend the permit of an airline if it is satisfied that the permit-holder has failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable service.
