With DGCA serving a show-cause notice to beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines asking why its license should not be taken away, industry experts on Saturday said it could have been issued four months ago when the then aviation regulator chief had made a similar recommendation to avoid the present situation.

“The government should have taken forward the recommendations made by then DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan who had recommended issuance of a similar notice to the airline on the same grounds as the DGCA has done now,” the experts, who refused to be named, said here.

Bhushan was abruptly shunted out mid-July to Steel Ministry for taking a tough stand against Kingfisher, a charge that was denied by the government.

Bhushan had then recommended that a notice be served on Kingfisher indicating that the DGCA would be constrained to suspend their operations as operational safety was being compromised, the airline had huge liabilities regarding salaries and the dues of its vendors, oil companies and airport operators.

The experts compared the notice sent by the incumbent DGCA Chief Arun Mishra and the recommendation made by Bhushan and said both had referred to the abrupt cancellation of flights and the airline not adhering to its flight schedule, causing great inconvenience to the travelling public.

Both of them had referred to the problems of safety of Kingfisher’s air operations, apart from its severe financial problems, the industry insiders said.

“The current critical situation could have been averted, had the government taken such a step earlier,” they said.

comment COMMENT NOW