India’s Kingfisher airline has grounded its fleet until October 12 as the management has failed to persuade workers to end their strike.
Flights have been suspended since Monday when technical staff, who claim they haven’t been paid for months, went out on strike.
The BBC reported today that the wife of a member of Kingfsher’s ground staff had killed herself, blaming financial stress because her husband had not received his full salary for several months.
The airline, which is owned by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, has made losses for the past five years. It is trying to find a foreign investor since the government relaxed rules last month to allow foreign airlines to buy up to a 49% stake in domestic carriers in India but its attempts could be harmed by this week’s disruption.
In a statement issued last night, Kingfisher admitted talks aimed at persuading staff to return to work had failed.
"We regret that the illegal strike has still not been withdrawn and normalcy has not been restored in the company, thereby continuing to cripple and paralyse the working of the entire airline," said spokesman Prakash Mirpuri.
In July, the airline was forced to cancel 40 flights after staff went on strike, again over the airline’s failure to pay months of wages.
After the government relaxed investment rules last month, Mallya said discussions were taking place which could allow overseas operators to invest in the airline.
