Kingfisher cancels 11 flights

Crisis-stricken Kingfisher Airlines Monday cancelled 11 flights from Mumbai after many of its pilots failed to report for work, officials said.

“Some of the flights are being cancelled as a result of employees’ agitation on account of delayed salaries. This situation has arisen as a consequence of our bank accounts having been frozen by the tax authorities,” the airline said in a statement here.

Stating that the flight loads have reduced because of limited distribution ability caused by IATA suspension, the airline said it is combining some flights.

“We are making all possible efforts to remedy this temporary situation. We will operate approximately 80 percent of our planned schedule. We expect to return to our full schedule shortly,” the airline said.

Kingfisher has a debt of Rs.7,057.08 crore. Its net loss widened to Rs.444.27 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, from Rs.253.69 crore in the October-December quarter in the last fiscal.