Kingfisher Airlines has till October 20 to reply to the DGCA’s show-cause notice, but it seems confident of taking to the skies from October 13 (its Web site is accepting bookings from that date). However, at least one travel portal is not so optimistic.

Travel portal Goibibo is selling only the Delhi-Mumbai sector on the airline and that too from October 20.

This is the date on which the 15-day period for the airline to reply to the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation’s show-cause notice expires.

The notice, issued on Friday, seeks to know why Kingfisher’s licence should not be “suspended or cancelled” as it has failed to establish “safe, efficient and reliable service.”

An SMS to the airline seeking clarification on the issue remained unanswered.

Goibibo is also giving a statutory message that the Kingfisher “flights are subject to cancellations, which is likely to cause inconvenience.”

“We expect the partial lock-out to get extended beyond October 12, and hence, we have given a warning on our Web site for all Kingfisher bookings,” said Sanjay Bhasin, Managing Director, Goibibo.

The site also says that the airline is following an erratic schedule and if passengers prefer, the site could guide them to other airlines.

The Yatra Web site is not displaying Kingfisher’s flights due to the uncertainty of operations.

Some travel agents, however, feel there is nothing wrong in taking bookings despite the DGCA notice.

“Issuing a notice does not mean that the airline has to suspend services. It just means the airline has to convince the DGCA that it is adhering to the safety standards.

“If the regulator suspends or cancels the licence then there is no question of flying or taking bookings,” a travel agent said.

> ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in

> Nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in