Struggling Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that it has further reduced services after grounding six more planes out of its current fleet of 17 aircraft. The airline reported that losses in the last quarter had risen by 147 per cent. A continuing strike by pilots has also forced the carrier to cut back its operations.

Kingfisher’s chief executive, Sanjay Agarwal, has reportedly met with Arun Mishra, head of the DGCA to discuss the performance of the airline and its ongoing financial woes. He has apparently told the authority that pilots who have been walking out regularly in protest of not being paid their salaries are now being paid for March.

Since the middle of August Kingfisher has been operating around 85 flights per day with a fleet of 11 aircraft. However, the company earlier said that it was aiming to run 17 planes on 120 flights per day during the summer months.

Mr Argawal confirmed to the DGCA that Kingfisher is currently flying five turboprop ATRs and six Airbus A320s after grounding three ATRs and three A320s.

He explained that the airline had been forced to cut back on services because of the grounding of the planes and because of ongoing disruptions caused by walkouts by its pilots. The DGCA is currently carrying out an investigation into the airline’s safety because of its financial problems.