The striking employees of Kingfisher Airlines, on Wednesday, rejected the management’s offer to take a month’s salary after 15 days and join duty immediately.
They have resolved to continue their agitation till their demands are met.
A representative of the striking employees told journalists that the strike would continue as the management did not give any commitment to pay the salaries. A few employees were called for a meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“The CEO (Sanjay Aggarwal) claimed on TV that he had called us for a meeting to resolve the crisis. But I have not got any mail,” said a pilot wanting to know as to why is the management misleading the media.
The partial lock-out ends on Thursday.
DGCA interim report
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in the meanwhile, is learnt to have termed non-payment of salaries by Kingfisher Airlines as a serious matter as it not only impacted the employees but also affected the safety operations of the airline. In an interim report filed with the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday, DGCA chief Arun Mishra is understood to have talked about the financial crunch and its impact on the operational safety of the airline and its aircraft.
According to the laid-down norms, an aircraft cannot take off before it is certified as fit for flight by engineers.
The DGCA has asked the airline officials to explain how they would maintain operational preparedness when they resume flights, as safety was of prime concern.
Regulator nod must
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh earlier asserted that the beleaguered airline would have to seek the DGCA nod before resuming its operations.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Mr. Singh said the DGCA had asked the crisis-ridden airline to submit a report on the airworthiness of its aircraft before resuming operations.
