Will Kingfisher manage to convince staff to resume work?

Moneycontrol Bureau

Crisis struck Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) will make one last attempt today to convince its 400 employees to return to work. This development comes three days after the Directorate--General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)suspended its licence---further jeopardizing the airline's operations.

Until early last year, KFA had 69 aircraft but due to financial strain and employee unrest, it went on shrinking capacity and of late, it has completely suspended operations. If it does not resume operation, there is a strong possibility of it losing flying licence.

Though KFA is trying hard to get back its employees to work, the latter have threatened that if they don't get their pending salaries, they will launch a nationwide protest and try and confront chairman Vijay Mallya at the F1 track in Greater Noida, where the races begin on October 26.

Nearly, 6,500 employees may lose their jobs, if the airline continues to be in a state of lockout, which has been extended till October 23. The average monthly wage bill of the airline is around Rs 21 crore. 

Beset by its own problems with respect to high debt, inability to pay its fuel supplies, the airline needs to get its house in order by reducing some amount of debt on its balance sheet and raise funds which it has been talking about for quite sometime but nothing has happened so far.

On October 5, the DGCA had issued a show---cause notice to the airline asking why its flying licence should not be suspended or cancelled as it was not adhering to its flight schedule and  'abruptly cancelling its flights time and again during the last 10 months", causing great inconvenience to the travelling public.

The DGCA had given the airline a 15--day time to reply to its notice, which was to expire on Saturday.

Meanwhile, beset by its own problems with respect to high debt, inability to pay its fuel supplies, the airline needs to get its house in order by reducing some amount of debt on its balance sheet and raise funds which it has been talking about for quite sometime but nothing has happened so far.