Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines
can't seem to stay away from trouble. A section of its pilots have decided not to fly from tonight in protest of
non-payment of salaries for January.
The aviation sector is already troubled by pilots of state-owned Air India being on strike. About 20 flights of the carrier were cancelled on Thursday as the strike entered the third day.
Kingfisher pilots are protesting "backtracking" by the
management on its "assurance" of remitting their January salaries from May 9, a move which is likely to compound the woes of fliers already hit by the ongoing stir by AI pilots.
"The management had said that it would start giving January salaries from May 9 onwards. However, it has backtracked on its commitment," sources told
PTI.
Chairman Vijay Mallya had "assured" the staff in his May 5 communication to them of remitting their January salaries from Wednesday on, sources added.
In an indication of a
showdown with the management, a section of the Delhi-based pilots of the cash-strapped airline reported sick on Thursday, while their Mumbai counterparts decided not to fly from tonight, the sources said.
The airline was on Wednesday reported to be
facing legal action from the government over "dishonour of the cheques" submitted by it for payments against airport charges.
Shares of Kingfisher Airlines were trading 1.43 per cent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs 13.80.
with PTI inputs 
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