Kingfisher Sorrows are not ending at this point also. It has been reported that some 34 Leased Aircraft have been taken back by Leasors due to non-payment of Rent.
However, Kingfisher Airlines claims that it has returned 32 aircraft to the lessors as those were not required under its truncated schedule of operation.
“There have been no forced return of aircraft to lessors. We have voluntarily returned aircraft, surplus to our requirements,” a Kingfisher Airlines official told IANS.
Reports earlier suggested that the aircraft were returned due to non-payment of dues to the lessors. The news saw the the company’s scrip fall sharply by 8.04 percent in Wednesday’s trade at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to Rs.12.35.
Sources claim that Lessors have taken back as many as 34 aircraft from Kingfisher between March and June, owing to non-payment of lease rentals, which stand at around Rs 1,000 crore.
It has also grounded another 15 planes as they require spares but due to paucity of funds it has not been able to replace them, sources said. Â The airline today operates only around 100 odd flights with these aircraft, and has withdrawn from international operations.
Currently, the airline, which had the lowest market share of 5.2 percent in May, is operating only 13 aircraft from the original strength of 64 in November 2011.
The airline is going through a severe financial crisis and has seen an exodus of pilots and engineers.
It had suspended operations to many cities in the last week of March and asked its staff to stay at home till it managed fresh funding.
The airline’s international operations have been suspended after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) barred the carrier from its inter-airline clearing house and billing and settlement plan accounts due to non-payment of dues.
The liquor baron Vijay Mallya-promoted airline, which is sitting on a debt pile of over Rs 7,500 crore, had reported a loss of 1151.5 crore for the quarter ending March.