Kingfisher Loses Permit as Airports Threaten To Seize Assets
AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE » JANUARY 7, 2013 by NEELAM MATHEWS Fortunes have reversed for Kingfisher Airlines since 2007, when the carrier’s CEO, Vijay Mallya (seated center), hosted Airbus COO for customers John Leahy (left) and Airbus executive v-p Kiran Rao during a New Delhi press conference promoting Kingfisher’s since dashed plans to fly the A380. (Photo: Airbus) January 7, 2013, 11:55 AM Facing a high debt burden, unpaid bills, a depreciating rupee in its home country of India and rising fuel costs, Kingfisher Airlines saw its Air Operator Permit ( AOP ) expire on December 31 after the Director General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) found the carrier had failed to furnish no-objection certificates from service providers–including airports–in its restructuring plan. Now, the Airports Authority of India ( AAI ) has threatened to “evacuate” the assets of the airline from airports across the country. “We also have p...