Kingfisher Airlines' flying licence may be cancelled

NEW DELHI: Ailing Kingfisher Airlines today faced the prospects of its flying licence being cancelled and its boss Vijay Mallya has been asked by DGCA to present a clear picture of the cash-strapped private carrier.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mulled cancellation of Kingfisher's flying permit after the airline today submitted to it the summer flight schedule with 15 to 16 aircraft as against 28 planes submitted last month.

"The airline not only lacks aircraft, they also lack funds for day-to-day operations. They are failing to meet their flight schedule, causing inconvenience to the passengers and also they failed to give salaries to their employees for past four-five months," official sources said. The sources said Kingfisher may be planning a quiet shutdown and Mallya being an "accountable" person has been asked to meet the DGCA to present a clear picture.

The whole picture is likely to become clear in few days, the officials said.

The beleaguered airline was served a show cause notice by the Civil Aviation regulator DGCA towards the end of February asking why its licence should not be suspended as it had made unannounced cancellations.

The 15-day mandatory notice period has already lapsed and they have failed to give a valid reason for curtailment of their flight schedule, most of their explanations are unsatisfactory and they have not given a definite recovery plan, officials said requesting anonymity said, adding the airline is presently operating only 15 or 16 aircraft.

Facing severe fund crunch, Vijay Mallya-promoted airline has decided to curtail its overseas flights operations to avoid further losses and also return of a leased aircraft.

According to sources, the airline has planned to suspend its overseas operations from March 25, except Delhi-London which it is withdrawing from April 9. Also the airline would return its wide body airbus A 330-200 aircraft to a lessor in the United Kingdom.

Struggling to stay afloat, around 60 accounts of Kingfisher Airlines have been frozen by the tax authorities for its failure to pay taxes after levying it from the passengers.

Angry over not being paid for four months, airline pilots reported sick, forcing the airline to curtail its scheduled flights. Mallya at a meeting with the pilots last Friday said their grievances would be looked into but did not set a time frame. He had also said the airline would come out with a crystal clear roadmap for its future in a few days.

Kingfisher has a total debt of about Rs 7,057 crore and accumulated losses of about Rs 6,000 crore.

Earlier this month, global airlines body IATA suspended Kingfisher for not clearing its dues.

This was the second time in just over a month that the airline was suspended on the same count from the IATA Clearing House (ICH) through which airlines and related firms settle accounts for services provided by them to other such companies.

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Will honestly work for UP’s development: Akhilesh

Lucknow: With his head firmly on his shoulders after he was chosen by the Samajwadi party as the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that his focus would be to honestly work for the development of the state. 

Speaking to the press, moments after party’s newly elected MLAs unanimously elected him as their leader, Akhilesh said, “I thank the people of Uttar Pradesh for the mandate given to Samajwadi party. I thank the people for having rising above caste and religion division to vote for us.” 

“We will work with full honesty to ensure progress of Uttar Pradesh and we will fulfil each and every promise made in the manifesto, no discrimination will be made on the basis of caste and creed,” he added amid victory cries by his supporters. 

Apparently referring to former CM Mayawati, Akhliesh said that he will not act with vendetta against anybody. “Mayawati’s statues will stand as before, even though nobody goes to see them. The vacant land there will be used to build hospitals or educational institutes,” he added. 

On the role to be played by his father and party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhliesh said, “Netaji will be in national politics as well as in the state, we will need his blessings.” 

The 38-year-old young turk will take over as UP’s youngest CM on March 15. 

The decision to give him the top post was finalised at an hour-long meeting of the newly elected SP legislators here Saturday. 

Akhilesh's name was proposed by senior leader Mohd Azam Khan. Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav seconded the proposal, after which the former bowed to his father and touched his feet. 

The spadework for Akhilesh's coronation was scripted at a late night parley Friday between Mulayam Singh, Azam Khan and Shivpal Yadav. 

It was at this meeting that the party supremo made "his mind clear about Akhilesh", a close aide of Mulayam Singh said. 

With the newly elected party legislators already pitching for Akhilesh as chief minister and with a brute majority of 224 in the 403-seat house, leaders with a different opinion on the matter fell in line. 

Both Azam Khan and Shivpal Yadav were reported to be unhappy with the decision to make Akhilesh, a youngster in the party compared to both of them, the chief minister. 

"For someone who has grown in front of them, you must understand that it is not easy for anyone to see him as a boss," said a close aide of Azam Khan. The differences were thrashed out Friday night. 

An MP from Kannauj, Akhilesh is largely seen as a game changer in UP politics and credited with the massive mandate in favour of the party in the assembly polls. 

An environmental engineer from Sydney University, Akhilesh was appointed state president of the SP in 2009. He slogged it out for the party in hostile situations, with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati at the helm of affairs. 

After his elevation as chief minister, Akhilesh would now quit his seat as MP from Kannauj and is likely to contest elections for the state assembly from Jaswantnagar, a seat for long held by Shivpal Yadav. 

Before Akhilesh's election as the chief minister, Mayawati was the youngest Uttar Pradesh chief minister at 39 years of age. 

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Vidya Balan has won the best actress award for her remarkable performance in movie 'The Dirty Picture'.The official announcement of the awards happened on March 7 in Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Akhilesh Yadav will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, according to TV reports. Sources say that Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has convinced senior leaders of the party on Akhilesh's candidature. 

At 38, Akhilesh Yadav will be the youngest CM of Uttar Pradesh. The SP parliamentary board will meet on Saturday March 10 to formally decide and announce the CM of Uttar Pradesh. 

Ever since the election results were out on Tuesday, there has been speculation as to who would be the chief minister. A section of party leaders wanted Akhilesh as the new CM, crediting with the party's change of fortunes with his spirited campaign before and during the elections. 

"We don't have anything to say today. The legislature party will meet tomorrow where the leader will be chosen. All MLAs and MPs will take part in the meeting," Mulayam Singh Yadav said earlier in the day. 

The SP got a majority in the state assembly by securing 224 seats out of the total 403 seats.