By
mid February of this year, Kingfisher Airlines started
to sink into a fresh crisis. Several flights were
cancelled and aircraft were grounded. The cash-strapped
airline claimed that the disruptions would continue for
four days due to unexpected events including bird
strikes which rendered aircraft out of service.
The airline shut down most of its
international short-haul operations and also temporarily
closed bookings. Out of the 64 aircraft, only 22 were
known to be operational by February 20. With this,
Kingfisher's market share dropped to 11.3%.
The cancellation of the flights was accompanied by a
13.5% drop in stock value. The CEO of the airlines,
Sanjay Agarwal was summoned by the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation and the Chairman CBDT to explain the
disruptions of the operations. In
March 2012, the airline was suspended by the
International Air Transport Association from using its
inter-airline fund clearing system, the suspension meant
the airline would have to deal directly with other
airlines when sharing revenue on services.
Due to the ongoing financial crisis, an Airbus A330-200
aircraft was impounded at London Heathrow Airport in the
United Kingdom under Court Orders due to unpaid fees to
aircraft leasing companies and RBS. In
June 2012, GVK, India's second-largest airport operator
launched legal proceedings against Kingfisher Airlines,
as a series of checks issued by the airline, bounced.
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