NEW
DELHI: The civil aviation regulator, DGCA,
has asked Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher
AirlinesBSE -3.41 % to furnish a concrete plan on issues
such as "adequate working capital, airworthiness of planes and settling
employee dues," failing which, they said Kingfisher's licence will not be
activated.
The regulator is waiting for Vijay Mallya to fulfil his promise made on December 7, of presenting a revival plan before month-end. Renewal of the airline's licence would be an uphill task, going by the requirements the government wants the air carrier to fulfil, experts say.
The cash-strapped airline has been grounded since October and its flying permit has been suspended by the government because of its inability to carry on operations satisfactorily.
At the lenders meet on Monday, the airline officials have claimed that they would restart operations in good time to avoid losing flying licence, which expires on December 31.
"Their revival plan must include availability of adequate working capital and settling of employees dues, to begin with. The airworthiness of their aircraft and fulfillment of pilots' medical requirements are the other things it should have," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Mishra told ET.
The new conditions have emerged because Kingfisher's aircraft have been grounded for long and if pilots haven't flown for a month, their licence gets redundant.
The submission of any such revival plan by KFABSE -3.41 % in the next 12 days now looks even more remote after lenders turned down Vijay Mallya's demand for bank guarantees on Monday, even though he promised to invest at least 105 crore in its equity by February.
On the other hand, the government seems to have extended the long rope given to Kingfisher Airlines again by talking of a provision by which the airline can regain flying permit by submitting a recovery plan within the next two years.
"This holds for all airlines. There is a circular which lays out a provision that if an airline's licence expires, they can regain it avoiding the circuitous route, by giving a revival plan in two years of licence expiry," an official from the ministry of civil aviation said.
The regulator is waiting for Vijay Mallya to fulfil his promise made on December 7, of presenting a revival plan before month-end. Renewal of the airline's licence would be an uphill task, going by the requirements the government wants the air carrier to fulfil, experts say.
The cash-strapped airline has been grounded since October and its flying permit has been suspended by the government because of its inability to carry on operations satisfactorily.
At the lenders meet on Monday, the airline officials have claimed that they would restart operations in good time to avoid losing flying licence, which expires on December 31.
"Their revival plan must include availability of adequate working capital and settling of employees dues, to begin with. The airworthiness of their aircraft and fulfillment of pilots' medical requirements are the other things it should have," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Mishra told ET.
The new conditions have emerged because Kingfisher's aircraft have been grounded for long and if pilots haven't flown for a month, their licence gets redundant.
The submission of any such revival plan by KFABSE -3.41 % in the next 12 days now looks even more remote after lenders turned down Vijay Mallya's demand for bank guarantees on Monday, even though he promised to invest at least 105 crore in its equity by February.
On the other hand, the government seems to have extended the long rope given to Kingfisher Airlines again by talking of a provision by which the airline can regain flying permit by submitting a recovery plan within the next two years.
"This holds for all airlines. There is a circular which lays out a provision that if an airline's licence expires, they can regain it avoiding the circuitous route, by giving a revival plan in two years of licence expiry," an official from the ministry of civil aviation said.
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