GVK-backed Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has asked civil aviation regulator DGCA not to permit Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) to fly again till its clears its dues of around Rs 23 crore.

In a letter written to the civil aviation regulator, MIAL has also sought de-recognition of seven Kingfisher planes that are parked in Mumbai.

An intimate source said, "Since last November, KFA has been flying in fits and starts. That can't be permitted. Unless they are able to maintain their schedule with full safety, there is no point letting it fly again."

MIAL's action is definitely a bad development for Kingfisher as aviation authorities have already declared that they would first speak to different agencies whom the airline owes money to get their views on whether the carrier should be allowed to fly again.

The GMR-supported Delhi and Hyderabad airports have already dragged beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines to court to recover dues.

Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines' quarterly loss widened year-on-year in the three months ended September 30. The already-debt ridden carrier said that its net loss widened from Rs 4.69 billion in the second quarter of last fiscal year to Rs 7.54 billion in the second quarter of this fiscal.

Revenues of the struggling carrier slipped 87 per cent to Rs 2 billion, from Rs 15.5 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Kingfisher Airlines' shares have shed 39 per cent so far this year. Before the company announced its quarterly results on early Thursday, shares were trading at Rs 12.8 apiece, at a tiny fraction of the shares' all-time peak of Rs
334 apiece in late 2007.