Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines is making news once again, as a group of its employees went on hunger strike on June 6, 2013. The employees currently on strike are demanding an immediate payment of their salaries, due since August 2012.
Kingfisher Airlines has been grounded since October 2012 and lost its license in December 2012. Sources familiar with the matter said that as many as 60 to 70 employees are under hunger strike at the moment, at the Kingfisher House near the domestic airport. The spokesperson for the airline could not be reached for comments. The CEO of Kingfisher Airlines, Sanjay Agarwal, was also present at the airlines headquarters and was trying to convince employees to end the protest.
There are about 17 lenders to the airline which is owned by Vijay Mallya. The airline owes the lenders Rs. 7,500 in principal, excluding arrears since January 2012. The lenders have sold the shares and sureties of the airline, as well as group companies worth around Rs. 1,000 crore, which is considered to be a part of their recovery process.
The owner Mallya has been talking about relaunching the airline since February 2013, but no further information is known at this point.
