 "AAI refuses to give NoC to Kingfisher Airlines")
Yesterday, the airline had sought regulatory approval to revive operations and had given its plan to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on infusion of funds and revival of operations.
Kingfisher Airlines has got a NOC from airline operators (Delhi International Airport Limited and Mumbai International Airport Limited, etc.) and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies. However, it is yet to get NOCs from AAI, tax authorities, banks and the service tax departments because the airline still owes due to them, said DGCA sources.
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Responding to the airline's request for permission to fly on a cash-and-carry basis, AAI chairman V P Agarwal said, "There is no question of allowing Kingfisher to operate on cash-and-carry. It must clear dues of Rs 290 crore and furnish bank guarantees. Clearing dues is definitely a prerequisite before taking matters forward."
Agarwal added the airline had not been replying to queries on settlement of dues.
For the first time, the United Breweries (UB) group has secured stakeholders' permission to infuse capital of Rs 652 crore in the airline. However, experts doubt if this amount would be sufficient to start even truncated operations with a fleet of seven planes.
"It depends on how soon UB group chairman Vijay Mallya makes the investment and a lot of it depends on successful closure of the Diageo deal," said an airline expert.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation report on Kingfisher's restructuring (August 2012) notes, "KFA has total debts of $2.49 billion including bank debts (approximately $1.1 billion), promoter debts, trade debts and other short-term liabilities. The accumulated losses are $1.9 billion (as on June 2012).
KFA is expected, in its plan, to start operations from Delhi and fly on routes such as Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. According to airline experts, there is a demand and potential for full-service carriers in the Indian market and this is currently only served by Jet Airways. Experts also feel the brand is still popular among travellers opting for premium service.
After meeting DGCA chief Arun Mishra, KFA's CEO Sanjay Aggarwal had told reporters yesterday, "We have shared the funding and traffic plans. The initial funding to restart the airline will come from the (parent UB) Group. We have also requested that our (flying) licence be renewed."
Mishra had said, "We will examine the proposal and take a call after that only. This time, UB Group has secured stakeholders permission to put funds in KFA. It has even offered to pay salaries to staff till January 2013."
According to KFA's revival plan, the airline would resume limited operations with five Airbus A-320 and two turboprop ATR aircraft and gradually step up its operations by increasing the number of planes to 20.
Although Aggarwal did not say by when he planned to relaunch the flights, sources said KFA cannot resume operations before the winter schedule starting October.
Kingfisher's flying licence was suspended in October 2012, and the airline remains grounded following strike by its employees over non-payment of salaries.