Kingfisher Airlines faces rough weather

Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines reportedly defaulted on payment of lease rentals to GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for four A320s. GECAS, one of the biggest aircraft lessors in the world, asked the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) for permission to repossess the aircraft and demanded that the aircraft be de-registered from the airline, a business daily said. However, Kingfisher denied any default and secured ad-interim relief from the Karnataka High Court to prevent the repossession of four A320 aircraft by GECAS. "Since the matter is now sub-judice, the DGCA cannot take action on de-registering the aircraft," a Civil Aviation Ministry spokeswoman said. The court has heard our application and thought it fit to pass ad-interim orders for our protection," A Kingfisher spokesman said.