The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to withdraw all of Kingfisher Airlines’ international flying rights and domestic slots, effective immediately, which in turn will be handed over to other Indian carriers.
A briefing from the ministry states that Kingfisher Airlines was allocated flying rights for eight countries, namely Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Dubai and the UK, from 2008 until 2011.
“These international traffic rights have been withdrawn from Kingfisher Airlines on account of non-utilisation by the airline.” Consequentially, these rights are now “available to other carriers for use,” which would add approximately 25,000 seats per week to any of the said eight countries.
This is the latest blow for the debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines, which has not only been grounded since October last year due to industrial action over non-payment and insufficient funds for continued operations (see story here) but also lost its flying permit at the end of 2012 (see story here), leaving the carrier with an uncertain future. Despite the negative circumstances, the carrier has continually tried to douse concerns. On December 31, upon losing its flying licence, the carrier released a statement claiming “there is no cause for concern” because it has “applied for renewal of its licence as a scheduled carrier” and has “submitted a restart and rehabilitation plan to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.”
Alisha Haridasani
