Shares in India's Kingfisher Airlines closed nearly 10 percent lower on Friday at a record low after a string of flight cancellations heaped further problems on the debt-ridden carrier. India's second-biggest private airline announced on Tuesday that it was cancelling at least 50 flights a day every day until November 19, just weeks after saying it was axing its low-cost service entirely.
But the Times of India newspaper said on Friday that cancellations were more widespread and only 269 of Kingfisher's scheduled 418 daily flights operated on Thursday. Shares in the carrier dropped 19.1 percent to a record low of 17.55 rupees in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, recovering to end at 19.65 rupees, still down 9.45 percent.
Investors exited the stock over fears about its long-term survival, forcing the loss-making airline to deny suggestions that it might be shut down. "The question does not arise," Kingfisher's chief executive Sanjay Aggarwal told the Press Trust of India news agency late Thursday.