Debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines said on Tuesday it temporarily stopped operations to several destinations as per its revised flight schedule, and most employees at those places have been asked to "stay at home."
"We are in a 'holding' pattern right now and are waiting for various decisions from the government and our consortium of bankers on FDI (foreign direct investment) policy, working capital funding, etc," Kingfisher said in a statement.
The airline paid a sum of Rs 44 crore towards tax deducted at source or TDS dues on Monday, before its March 27 deadline.
The airlines has further said that it has begun the 2012 summer schedule operating approximately 120 daily flights with 20 dedicated aircraft.
“This is a "holding plan" that we have put in place pending re-capitalisation and return to full utilisation of the aircraft fleet. In this "holding plan" we have taken adequate care to ensure that part of our core inter-metro schedule is retained, while connectivity is maintained to many cities where we are the sole operator.
"We will also protect the interests of all stakeholders, suppliers and service providers as an integral part of our recapitalization plans, ” said the company in a statement.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also monitoring the airline's safety standards on a constant basis. "This will give guests the required comfort to confidently book and fly with us," added the statement.
“All of these will have a major impact on the staffing decisions we will have to make. But our immediate priority is to access our funds to pay outstanding staff salaries," the statement said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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