Kingfisher engineers plan winding-up petition against company

Employees of grounded Kingfisher AirlinesBSE 0.49 %, whose salaries have remained unpaid for the past eight months, are again in a defiant mood with the pilots today deciding to launch a hunger strike next week.

Its engineers would also meet in Delhi on January 20 to discuss the filing of a closure petition against the beleaguered airline.

Talks between the representatives of the pilots and the airline management in Mumbai this afternoon failed to arrive at a resolution of the impasse.

Following this, the pilots decided to send a legal notice to the airline demanding payment of all salary dues.

They also decided to launch a hunger-strike from January 21 at the company headquarters, Kingfisher House, in Mumbai if the dues were not baid by then, sources among the pilots said, adding that they were also demanding an immediate audience with airline chairman Vijay Mallya.

In a related development, sources among the engineers said, "We (Kingfisher Airlines engineers) have called a meeting of all engineers on January 20 to discuss the winding up petition."

The airlines' engineers, who are taking legal counsel on the issue, said, "We are hopeful that by January 20, we will be able to give a final shape to our legal recourse."

Kingfisher Airlines, whose flying license (scheduled operator's permit) expired on December 31, has been grounded since October one last year.

The Service Tax Department has already issued notices to the airline as to why it should not confiscate its entire aircraft fleet for default on the levy amounting to Rs 60 crore, apart from another Rs 127 crore that is under litigation.


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