Kingfisher Airlines shares crashed over 3 per cent on Wednesday morning with news that some pilots have resorted to protest against non-payment of salary for six months. The shares finally closed with a loss of 2.22 per cent at Rs.8.37 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Earlier during the day, Kingfisher had to cancel half a dozen flights as some pilots stayed away from duty. The management has repeatedly failed to keep its promise to release their salaries and employees have not been paid since March, 2012.
“These are scheduled cancellations which mean the airline knew that the pilots will not report to work. Of late, Kingfisher is cancelling flights regularly for various reasons,” said an airport official.
Four flights out of Mumbai to destinations such as Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore were cancelled on Wednesday while two flights could not arrive in Mumbai.
Mumbai, which used to be the airline’s main base, is fast witnessing decline in the number of Kingfisher’s flights since financial crisis hit the airline.
In the holding plan, the airline had 29 daily departures from Mumbai and the number has now come down to 19. Out of these, sometimes flights are cancelled or clubbed together due to various operational reasons.
In the April to June quarter, the promoters had invested $133.9 million.The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said that the airline needed an investment of $600 million in the next 30-60 days
