MUMBAI, India — Aviation regulators on Saturday suspended the licenses of Kingfisher Airlines, once India’s most popular domestic airline, after executives were unable to present a plan to end a lockout that has grounded its planes since early this month.
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| Vijay Mallya. |
The much-anticipated decision came after months of financial and labor turmoil at the airline, which is controlled by one of India’s most flamboyant tycoons, Vijay Mallya.
Kingfisher, which has never made money, owes nearly $1.5 billion to banks, oil companies and others.
The airline drastically reduced the number of its planes and flights in the past year and suspended all flights this month after its operations were disrupted by protesting engineers and other employees who have not been paid for more than six months.
