Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya on Tuesday threatened the agitating employees that he would approach Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel the licence of the airlines, if the striking pilots don't resume work immediately.
FULL CEOVERAGE: How Kingfisher landed itself in this mess
Mallya is reported to have conveyed this to the team of Kingfisher pilots and engineers who met him on Tuesday in Mumbai.
Mallya had promised to clear the outstanding salaries from Wednesday after tax authorities unfroze bank accounts but the staff want part payment of dues on Tuesday itself setting a 8 pm deadline.
ALSO READ: Kingfisher Airlines barely managing to stay in the airMallya's promise, however, failed to cut ice with several pilots and staff of the cash-strapped carrier. They failed to report for duty on Monday to protest delays in salaries
leading to cancellation of at least ten flights from Delhi and Mumbai.
The airline's employees, who have not been paid since last December, put the airline on notice to pay two months' salaries and dues by 8 pm on Tuesday and clear the remaining dues by April 20.
Mallya, in his mail to the staff on Sunday, admitted that the salaries were "seriously overdue" and promised to pay their salaries and other dues in a staggered manner starting April 4.
PERSPECTIVE: Kingfisher's loss whose gain? The employees were informed that tax authorities, which had frozen 40 bank accounts last December, had unfrozen them on Saturday.
In his letter, Mallya said "the formalities of un-freezing our bank accounts was completed on March 31 following our payment of Rs 44 crore to the Income Tax and Rs 20 crore to the Service Tax authorities.
"My only focus now is to start paying your seriously overdue salaries. All junior staff will be paid before the Easter that is on April 4th. All pilots and engineers will be paid on April 9th and April 10th."
Mallya said payments had to be staggered due to the three bank holidays falling this week on April 2, 5 and 6.
But the employees in response to Mallya's promise remained unconvinced and reportedly conveyed to him that similar assurances were made in the past. The employees are feeling cheated, they said, adding the situation has come to a point where operations have become unsafe due to stress caused by the staff's financial constraints.
Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya 
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