Ailing Kingfisher, AI may not be safe: DGCA

New Delhi: After trouble in the skies, there seems to be more worries for the embattled Indian carriers Kingfisher Airlines and Air India on the ground this time.
A financial audit carried out by the the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found that all carriers were in a financially sick state and suggested rather drastic remedies.
DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan said that the financial surveillance report states how financial stress can have ramifications on the safety of airlines like Kingfisher Airline and Air India Express.

The DGCA sources indicated that due to financial stress in Air India Express and Kingfisher Airlines, the maintenance of aircraft and other safety related measures could get affected. Sources indicated a similar worry for Air India Express, where financial stress is also compounded by low morale in its staff due to uncertainty.
Bharat Bhushan has emphasised that the DGCA is very strict about the issue of air safety regulations.
The DGCA officials were meeting to plan a future course of action.
The DGCA has summoned both Kingfisher and Air India Express officials on Thursday to explain what measures were being taken to ensure that adequate air safety measures are being followed.
Kingfisher Airlines, in a statement, said, "This is an audit, which the DGCA carried out, which they can carry out on any airline, following which, the DGCA has submitted a list of questions to us which we are going to reply to at the meeting today. No inference can be drawn from this and Kingfisher is operating its scheduled services with utmost safety."

Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ailing-kingfisher-ai-may-not-be-safe-dgca/217950-3.html