A section of pilots ofKingfisher Airlines today went on a strike over non-payment ofsalary and other dues for the past five months, forcingcancellation of five flights.
Airline officials said the pilots who did not report towork were those who operate the 70-seater ATR turbopropaircraft on short-haul routes connecting regional airports.
In Delhi, two flights each to Dharamsala and Dehradunand one flight to Shimla have been cancelled by the VijayMallya-owned airline since this morning.
However, the Airbus A-320 operations of Kingfisher weregoing on as per the normal schedule, the officials maintained.
This is the second time in last eight days that theairline's pilots have gone on an agitation over non-payment oftheir dues.
"A section of the airline's pilots, mainly operatingATRs, did not report for duty on the salary payment issue.
Owing to the agitation, the airline has cancelled five flightsas we could not get pilots to operate the aircraft," theofficials told PTI.
The number of pilots who have joined the agitation is notimmediately known, they said, adding that Kingfisher CEOSanjay Aggarwal was expected to meet the agitators soon.
Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson was not immediatelyavailable for comment.
On July 2, when the pilots in Mumbai had threatened a strike, the management representatives had a meeting with theMumbai-based employees and promised to start disbursingsalaries from July six.
The meeting was attended by CEO Aggarwal, Executive VicePresident Hitesh Patel and Chief Financial Officer H GRaghunath, besides a cross-section of employees, includingpilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground handling staff.
While a large chunk of junior staffers got part of theirdues, the airline management said the pilots and other staffwould be paid in a few days thereafter.
"The pilots' patience now seems to be running out. Howlong one can survive without pay for such a long time? Themanagement is simply doling out promises but what we need ismoney," an agitating pilot, requesting anonymity, said.
Kingfisher is, at present, carrying out truncateddomestic and international operations with about 15 aircraft,in place of 64.
A large number of its flight engineers have reportedlyquit over the past five months, primarily due to delayedpayments. In April this year, around 200 engineers reportedsick as a mark of protest over the issue.
The airline, which has not posted profit since inceptionin May 2005, has reported a loss of Rs 1,151.50 crore in theMarch quarter, has a debt of over Rs 7,500 crore and almost anequal amount of accumulated losses.
Last week, the airline had said it planned to sell offtwo unused properties in Mumbai and Goa to partly repay itsstaggering debt. This was among the proposals Kingfishermanagement had put before a 17-member lenders' consortium lastThursday.
These properties are likely to fetch Rs 120 crore -- Rs90 for the Mumbai property and Rs 30 crore for the Goan villa-- going by the current market value.