|
New Delhi, Jan. 5: The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) today met the officials of Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Express to discuss passenger safety, while assuring them that their licences will not be cancelled.
Bharat Bhushan, the director-general of civil aviation, said the regulator had asked the airlines to address the safety issues in a time-bound manner.
The DGCA had sought explanations from the carriers on safety concerns highlighted by the regulator’s internal report.
Other private airlines would also be meeting the regulator.
Sanjay Aggarwal, CEO of Kingfisher Airlines, said, “The DGCA has asked Kingfisher Airlines to provide a specific timeline for getting the grounded aircraft back in operation and for its recapitalisation efforts. We would like to clarify that the DGCA did not have any significant findings or concerns with regard to safety at Kingfisher Airlines and that we have adequate number of pilots and engineers to operate our scheduled services.”
Aggarwal added that Kingfisher’s scheduled flights would continue to operate with utmost safety in full compliance with regulatory requirements.
The aviation regulator has given Kingfisher time till Monday to submit a plan on the safety measures it would take, warning that the financial problems faced by the carrier could affect its safety standards.
According to Bhushan, as many as one-third of Kingfisher’s fleet were grounded. “So they cannot ask for slots, occupy everything and cancel things and put people at inconvenience. How are they doing the regular maintenance and all those things, we propose to look at,” he said.
Air India Express officials said the DGCA’s concerns would be looked into, but passengers did not have anything to worry about.
Kingfisher debt status
The State Bank of India, which is Kingfisher Airlines’ largest creditor, today called the Vijay Mallya-led carrier a non-performing asset.
“Kingfisher is an NPA (non-performing asset) for us. They are in default,” Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman of the State Bank of India, today said.
SBI, the leader of the consortium of banks that have lent funds to Kingfisher Airlines, has an exposure of Rs 1,457.78 crore to the struggling firm.
|
