Shares in India’s grounded Kingfisher Airlines slid 4.8 percent on Monday after the aviation regulator compounded the carrier’s woes at the weekend by suspending its flying licence.
Kingfisher shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange fell to 10.9 rupees, owing to mounting concerns over the airline’s future.
The fleet of the debt-laden airline has been grounded since the start of the month due to a strike over unpaid salaries. Shares have since dipped 29 percent.
India’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation on Saturday suspended Kingfisher’s licence until it comes up with a “viable” revival plan.
The airline, which has billions of dollars in debts, has not paid staff for seven months and is desperately seeking a foreign buyer to save it from complete collapse, but many analysts are doubtful any rescue is possible.
Relations between management and staff reached boiling point last month after the company declined to commit to a date for settling its debts, prompting employees to walk out.
Much of the criticism for the airline’s decline has been directed at 56-year-old Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant billionaire who owns the company.
It was India’s second-largest airline until a year ago but now it has a market share of just 3.5 percent, the smallest of the country’s carriers.
India's Kingfisher shares fall after licence loss
