Without revival plan Kingfisher may lose license: Ajit Singh

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India's aviation regulator on Saturday suspended the operating license of ailing Kingfisher Airlines and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh warned that if the carrier fails to provide a reasonable revival plan then its license may be cancelled.

"If they are not able to provide any concrete revival plans on how to restart operations and to pay their employees, then the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) may cancel their license," Singh told reporters at his residence.

Singh's comments came after the DGCA suspended the airline's operating license citing its inability to provide any reasonable revival plans.

The airline had on Friday extended till Oct 23 the lockout declared October 1 after negotiations with striking employees had failed.

A senior aviation ministry official said that the DGCA decided to suspend the operating license ‘taking full cognizance of the reply sent by the airline’.

"The decision was taken today (Saturday) keeping in full view the present situation in which the airline has no reasonable plans to restart operations or how it will manage to pay its employees."

The suspension came a day after the airline sought more time to reply to a showcause notice sent by the regulator on its revival plans.

"We are not satisfied with their reply. They have not come up with a solution to their industrial unrest problems and we cannot wait for ever for them to come up with something," the official added.

The regulator had issued a notice seeking a reply from the airline about its plans to restart operations and to pay the employees salaries.

It has said the airline risks suspension of its licence as it has ‘failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable service’.

The regulator has also rejected the passenger carrier's winter schedules for flight departures.

The airline last year had a departure rate of 2,930 flights per week, but has since reduced capacity due to mounting debt and an exodus of employees.

The airline had the lowest market share in September, which stood at 3.5 per cent. It has a total debt of Rs.7,000 crore with banks.

The airline has only 10 operational aircraft from an earlier strength of around 66 planes a year ago. It was also the country's second largest airlines by passenger traffic.