80-odd pilots had refused to fly



After putting up a brave front in the face of mounting adversity, crisis-ridden Kingfisher has for the first time acknowledged that it is in a make-or-break situation. On Saturday night, Kingfisher executive vice-president Hitesh Patel sent an e-mail to pilots unpaid for five months, saying: "I would like to, however, let you know that our airline is standing at a critical juncture, which will define whether we make it or not."

About 80-odd pilots had refused to fly on Saturday as the airline has not paid it salaries for last five months, and this led to cancellation of over 40 of the 110 daily flights it operates. Patel called up the pilots, assuring them that February's salary would be paid by Monday.

"I understand and empathize with the amount of personal issues you and your family have been through due to salary delays. I also understand that in spite of our best and most sincere endeavours, we may have failed on the timelines committed... your actions over the last few days continue to do irreparable harm to the airline. I urge you to please resume work," the mail said.

Following the promise of payment by Monday, the pilots resumed work and the airline is now back to operating its truncated schedule with the 10-12 aircraft it currently flies. But, the next round of trouble may not be far. "We told Patel very clearly that payment of February's salary in mid-July is not a favour to us and that we must be told when the salary for March will be paid. Otherwise, we will resort to some action again," said a pilot, adding that making people fly for months without paying them is a recipe for disaster.

The aviation ministry has, however, made it clear it will not pull the plug on Kingfisher, which has a debt of over Rs 7,000 crore with banks - mostly public sector banks - and its total liabilities-cum-losses are over Rs 10,000 crore. A top official said a schedule airline can fly till it has five operational aircraft in its fleet and flies them without compromising on safety.

"It is not up to the aviation ministry to shut down Kingfisher as the government is not keen on such a move. If Kingfisher closes, uncomfortable questions would be raised on why banks - mostly public sector ones - lent Rs 7,500 crore to a commercial entity that did not have a viable business model," said top sources, adding, the management may be trying to create a situation that someone else is forced to shut it down. "That way the airline management can say 'we would have revived the airline' had we not been closed. Why should we oblige them? We will keep enhancing the checks on Kingfisher planes to ensure safety," said a source.



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