New Delhi, Oct 23 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today clearly ruled out interfering in Kingfisher Airlines matter, saying that it is not for the first time that an aviation company has failed.
Kingfisher Airlines has not paid its staff for seven months. A series of strikes called by its pilots and staff and repeated flight cancellations forced the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to suspend its licence, until it came up with a viable working plan for its financial and operational revival.
"Government cannot interfere because a private company is failing, some companies fail some come companies make money; in civil aviation it is not the first time a company has failed.
"Kingfisher is in bad shape and for employees working there it is a big problem. It is difficult to find new jobs in this scenario. It seems difficult for Kingfisher but not impossible to fly again," Singh said on Tuesday.
Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines on Monday offered its agitating staff overdue salaries in three installments before Diwali, days after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the airline"s flying licence.
Monday's offer, which was termed by the Kingfisher management as positive and a way forward, hopefully will end the over three-week-long lockout in the beleaguered carrier.
Kingfisher's management said they would be approaching the DGCA again to understand what it expected from the carrier to facilitate the end of the 23-day-old impasse.
Protesting employees, however, said they wanted a written assurance from the airline management, as the latter had earlier backtracked.
The offer was made to the employees representatives, who have been demanding payment of pending salary dues of at least four out of seven months before they resume work, held a meeting with management representatives at the Kingfisher House in Mumbai.
"There has been no written communication from the management in this regard. We don't know about any such offer," a pilot, who was part of the meeting, told when asked whether the management had offered to clear two-three instalments of salary dues before Diwali in November.
"We cannot trust their words. They have gone back on their verbal promises earlier. We need a clear-cut written assurance," he said.
Airline sources, however, said such an offer was made to the employees during the discussions.
So far, Kingfisher employees have rejected the offer of three months salary before Diwali and demanded that their four months salaries be paid within a day or two.
On Monday, at least 15 of Kingfisher's leased planes were stripped clean of crucial parts at various airports and were declared not fit to fly.
Inspection of at least two aircraft in New Delhi found the passenger and cockpit interiors cleaned out. (ANI)
