Kingfisher in `partial lockout` of staff

Kingfisher Airlines, the stricken carrier owned by Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, says it has declared "a partial lockout", and has cancelled all flights at least until Thursday, as a result of agitation among engineers and pilots who have not received their salaries since March.
The latest bout of labour unrest for the cash-strapped carrier began on Sunday, when angry engineers said they would no longer certify the aeroplanes as safe to fly, forcing the grounding of all flights on Monday.
In a statement, the airline blamed a "small section of recalcitrant employees" for intimidating other workers that Kingfisher insisted were otherwise still willing "to co-operate and support the company in these turbulent times".
The airline accused the disgruntled workers of a series of "protracted and unabated incidents of violence, criminal intimidation, assault, wrongful restraint and other illegal acts, including refraining from attending work".
It said it had been left with no choice but to declare a lockout, and suspend all flights until October 4. The airline said it was making efforts to engage with those "recalcitrant employees" to persuade them to "cease and desist" from threatening other workers, so the airline could resume its normal operations with willing workers.
India's airline industry regulator, the director-general of civil aviation, is expected to meet Sanjay Aggarwal, the airline's chief executive, to discuss the deepening crisis at the heavily indebted carrier.
Kingfisher has been struggling to stay aloft for the past year, amid severe cash flow problems that have left it unable to pay salaries, airline parking charges, interest on its debts and many vendors for their services.
Still, India's government is eager to prevent Kingfisher's total collapse, which would be a big blow for the country's banks, especially the government-owned State Bank of India, which has the largest exposure to its $1.4bn in debts. Indian banks also own about 20 per cent of the airline, equity taken during an earlier restructuring in 2010.
Kingfisher was once highly popular among travellers and grew to be India's second-largest carrier before it was forced to sharply curtail its services. While Mr Mallya - whose United Spirits dominates India's whisky and spirits market - has given personal guarantees for much of the loans, trying to recover collateral would be messy, complex and protracted.
Concern for Kingfisher's survival was one of the factors that finally pushed New Delhi to decide last month that it would allow foreign airlines to buy stakes of up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers.
Mr Mallya had long advocated opening India's aviation sector to foreign airline involvement in the hopes that he could find a partner willing to help reduce his carrier's debts, and stabilise its operations. The International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways, had previously expressed an interest in stronger ties with Kingfisher.
However, New Delhi may have simply waited too long to announce the policy change to save the airline, given the deep disgruntlement among pilots and other staff who have not been paid. Repeated bouts of labour unrest have further eroded the airline's image among travellers.
But Mr Mallya, an amateur pilot who believes in the long-term prospects of India's aviation sector, despite his carrier's challenges, is still battling to save his airline.
He has been engaged in recent weeks in intensive negotiations with Kingfisher's creditors over a possible debt restructuring, and is simultaneously in talks with Diageo, the world's largest distiller, about the potential sale of a stake in his United Spirits, which could help raise fresh capital for Kingfisher.

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