Kingfisher Airlines faces DGCA notice for cancelling flights

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines' inability to operate flights is hurting passengers. Directorate-General of Civil Aviation sources said the airline had a schedule of 138 departures in the six metros on Sunday but could operate just 78, or 57%, of them.

Airport sources said about half of the airline's daily 240 flights were either cancelled or delayed. Kingfisher CEO Sanjay Aggarwal claimed the cancellations were far fewer.

Since this is the second time in four months that Kingfisher has cancelled a large number of flights without informing either DGCA or passengers, sources say the airline could be slapped with a show-cause notice.

After suspending operations from Kolkata, Kingfisher Airlines has now suspended direct flights from Mumbai to Hyderabad and Jaipur till March 25. It has also cut capacity on major sectors like Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. KFA chief Vijay Mallya is learned to have told aviation minister Ajit Singh that the airline needs three-four days to get back on track. This means passengers can hope for some relief from Tuesday, if the latest assurances hold good.

Direct flights from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram, Indore and Nagpur have also been cancelled indefinitely.

On Sunday, 16 flights across various sectors were cancelled from Mumbai, said airport officials. Passengers, even those who were informed by the airline about the cancellations, had to book on other airlines at much higher fares.

On Sunday, tour operators who were trying to book their clients on Kingfisher flights to Jaipur and Hyderabad from Mumbai were told that no direct flights were available. Rajesh Rateria, MD, Cirrus Travels, could not find any Kingfisher Mumbai-Jaipur or Mumbai-Hyderabad flight till March 25. "Though all operations at Jaipur and Hyderabad have not been suspended, direct flights from Mumbai are not available to these sectors," Rateria said.

TOI inquired at a Kingfisher helpline and was informed that the airline had cancelled its direct flights from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram, Indore, Nagpur, Belgaum and Bhubaneswar as well. "These flights have been temporarily but indefinitely cancelled due to operational reasons," a Kingfisher staffer said.

"About 10 days ago, the airline reduced one flight each to Jaipur and Hyderabad. Now there are none," said Pradip Lulla, director, Cupid Travels. Tour operators said Kingfisher had not issued any prior intimation about these cancellations and new bookings on Kingfisher have completely stopped. Business travellers, once a regular clientele, are opting for other carriers.