Hundreds stranded at city airport as airline cancels 16 flights.
Thousands were stranded at the city airport as Kingfisher Airlines operations continued to be disrupted for the third consecutive day.
On Monday, the cash-strapped airlines cancelled 50 domestic flights of which 16 were from Mumbai.
The airline claimed it was forced to curtail its services after tax authorities froze its bank accounts reportedly due to its inability to clear its unpaid service taxes.
But, passengers were is no mood to hear the arguments.
“On Sunday, I saw the news about the Kingfisher crisis on television and immediately called the airline’s call centre. But, I was told that my 12.30pm flight for Chandigarh on Monday would be on time,” said Amit Kumar.
“But, when I reached the airport at 10am, I was informed that the flight has been delayed. I had to book my ticket with another airline. Kingfisher should have at least informed us about the situation on Monday when I approached their call centre.”
Aakash Ranjan almost missed his job interview in Chandigarh.
“I was to catch the 12.30pm flight, but at 10am, the airlines have informed me that it has been delayed. I have to reach Chandigarh by 3pm for my job interview so I have booked my ticket with Air India. I will later check with Kingfisher for my refund,” he said.
Sudhir Kumar Singh, who had booked tickets for his family members for Lucknow, has decided to take action against the airlines.
“They should have informed us about the cancellation in advance. Moreover, they are not even saying anything about refund. If I do not get my refund and an apology from the airlines by Tuesday, I will take legal action against them,” said Singh.
On Sunday, Prakash Mirpuri, vice president, corporate communications of Kingfisher Airlines Limited, issued a statement stating that the flight disruptions will continue for four days due to “unexpected events including bird strikes which rendered aircraft out of service”.
On Monday, the airlines again issued a statement saying:
“The prime reason for the current disruption in our flight schedules is the sudden attachment of our bank accounts by the income tax department. This has severely affected our ability to make operational payments leading to the present curtailment. The revised schedule has been updated in the system.”
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