Day 3: Ten KFA flights cancelled

Ten Kingfisher Airlines flights scheduled to operate in and out of Mumbai on Monday were cancelled owing to an ongoing ‘no pay no work’ protest by the airline’s pilots and engineers on Monday.

Ten Kingfisher Airlines flights scheduled to operate in and out of Mumbai on Monday were cancelled owing to an ongoing ‘no pay no work’ protest by the airline’s pilots and engineers on Monday.

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The protest completed its third day on Monday. A Mumbai airport official said that most of the cancelled flights connected tier-II cities such as Bhuj, Kandla and Hubli to Mumbai.

The staff had started the agitation on Saturday, after the airline failed to pay their March salaries by the agreed date of August 17. While the Airbus fleet pilots resumed work on Sunday following a meeting with the airline management, the crew operating the ATR aircraft continued to stay on sick leave.

“The Airbus fleet pilots resumed work because senior management officials convinced them that the March salaries would be paid by Tuesday,” said a senior airline official, requesting anonymity.

Airline sources added that as the passenger occupancy on the flights was between 10% and 15%, only a few passengers were affected by the disruption. The civil aviation ministry’s market share data for July showed that the debt-ridden airline only caters to 3.4% of domestic passengers, which is the lowest by an Indian carrier.