Kingfisher flies into more trouble

AN INTERNATIONAL airline group has suspended India’s struggling Kingfisher Airlines from an industrywide payment system.

The International Air Transport Association said Kingfisher, part of Whyte & Mackay owner Vijay Mallya’s business empire, was suspended from its clearing house for not paying its account on time. The system allows airlines to divide the money from codeshare flights or multi-leg journeys involving several carriers. Kingfisher has grounded planes, failed to pay staff and cancelled scores of flights in recent weeks.