Kingfisher Airlines suspends future bookings as it loses licence to fly

Vijay Mallya’s airline has however maintained that there is no cause for concern as the regulations permit License renewal within two years of expiry.

The airline has applied for renewal of its licence as a scheduled carrier. It also submitted a restart and rehabilitation plan to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the company has said.

According to the plan it submitted, the required funding to pay staff wages and renew licence will be provided by the holding company The UB Group. But the DGCA has asked the debt-ridden airline to produce no objection letters in addition to the plan.

Kingfisher Airlines is confident of securing approval from the DGCA on the restart plan and the licence approval, the airline’s spokesman said on the official website.

Kingfisher began its operations in 2005 but has made losses for five years of its operations. According to the BBC, the airline has accumulated a debt of $1.4bn (£870m) and was forced to impose lockout since October 2012 amid protests from its staff, lenders and airport authorities over non-payment.