Kingfisher Airlines has asked the Delhi High Court for a directive to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider its application for a security clearance to Lalit Bhasin for appointment as a director of the company.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requires security clearances for directors and chairmen/chief executive officers for the grant of a no-objection certificate to an airline to operate as a scheduled operator. Kingfisher’s operating licence was suspended in late 2012 by the aviation regulator after it was grounded by a strike by the airline’s employees to protest non-payment of salaries.
According to a petition filed by Kingfisher, it approached the civil aviation ministry for security clearance for Bhasin on 21st March 2012, but despite subsequent reminders, no action had been taken.
The company has since attributed its failure to declare its financial results for the year-ending 31st March to the Ministry’s failure to consider the application of Bhasin’s security clearance.
Kingfisher Airlines was first launched in 2005, and has never made a profit.