NEW DELHI: After licence suspension, the grounded Kingfisher Airline (KFA) faces the prospect of its licence not getting renewed and
expiring. Highly-placed government sources said licence ofKFA will expire on December 31 and it cannot be renewed unless the
management is able to get the suspension revoked by the Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) before that. Revalidating a lapsed licence is a very
difficult task, though licence cancellation is preferable in which an airline
would need to start from scratch to fly again.
"An airline operating permit (AOP, read licence) that is suspended cannot be renewed. A suspended licence must first be revived and only then can it be extended," former DGCA chief Kanu Gohain said. So now, KFA chief Vijay Mallya has to prepare a revival plan, raise funds and convince DGCA to lift suspension in time to get a renewal. Or else, KFA faces three options - remaining grounded for a long time, shutting down or a new investor restarting operations possibly under a new name by reviving the lapsed licence.
India has seen examples of each of these three options. Many airlines like EastWest that started in late 1990s have shut down. Paramount and MDLR airlines had their licences suspended over three years back and are yet to restart operations.
"An airline operating permit (AOP, read licence) that is suspended cannot be renewed. A suspended licence must first be revived and only then can it be extended," former DGCA chief Kanu Gohain said. So now, KFA chief Vijay Mallya has to prepare a revival plan, raise funds and convince DGCA to lift suspension in time to get a renewal. Or else, KFA faces three options - remaining grounded for a long time, shutting down or a new investor restarting operations possibly under a new name by reviving the lapsed licence.
India has seen examples of each of these three options. Many airlines like EastWest that started in late 1990s have shut down. Paramount and MDLR airlines had their licences suspended over three years back and are yet to restart operations.
ModiLuft,
launched jointly by Lufthansa and the Modi group in 1993, shut down in 1996. An
NRI Bhulo Kansagra got its AOP revalidated and tried to launch an airline under
the name of Royal Airways. That did not happen and in 2004 Kansagra got some
more promoters and Royal Airways was launched as SpiceJet, which today is
India's second largest budget airline.
Top aviation authorities do not know which of these options will be the fate of Kingfisher.
"We have not heard anything from the management. Once they give a plan, the DGCA will speak to airport operators, oil companies and some other agencies. The clearance to Kingfisher for flying again can come only if the DGCA is convinced that the airline can ensure safety and maintain its schedule," said sources.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Kingfisher-Airline-licence-to-expire-on-December-31-if-suspension-stays/articleshow/17109660.cmsTop aviation authorities do not know which of these options will be the fate of Kingfisher.
"We have not heard anything from the management. Once they give a plan, the DGCA will speak to airport operators, oil companies and some other agencies. The clearance to Kingfisher for flying again can come only if the DGCA is convinced that the airline can ensure safety and maintain its schedule," said sources.
No comments:
Post a Comment