Hope to fly from Nov 6: Kingfisher Air

Grounded Indian airline Kingfisher expects to start flying again on Nov. 6 if the country's aviation regulator gives the go-ahead, the debt-laden company said on Friday.

Kingfisher Airlines has given its response after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked the carrier why its licence to fly should not be cancelled for failing to provide a safe, efficient and reliable service but a spokesman for the company declined to comment on what that response was.

Currently we anticipate resuming operations on November sixth, subject to our resumption plan being reviewed and approved by the DGCA, Kingfisher said in a statement.

The airline last week said its planes would remain grounded until Oct. 20, having stopped flying at the beginning of the month after an employee protest turned violent.

Struggling to pay its bills, the airline is seven months behind in salary payments and staff protests started last month when a group of engineers refused to certify the airworthiness of planes. On Wednesday, the regulator failed to approve Kingfisher's proposed winter schedule of flights. The company had 2,930 departures per week last year in its winter schedule, which is due to start this year on Oct. 28.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, which estimates Kingfisher's total debts at around $2.5 billion, said a fully funded turnaround would cost at least $1 billion.

(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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