The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun an investigation into flight abandonments by Kingfisher and other Indian airlines.

Protocol requires all airlines obtain prior approval from the DGCA before withdrawing planned flights or reducing schedules.

Thirteen flights departing Bangalore alone had been cancelled by Kingfisher on Sunday, citing the second consecutive day of flight retractions by the Indian carrier.

Passengers in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata were left stranded without warning or alternatives.

The airline has promised to restore flight schedules by the end of this week, claiming unavoidable circumstances, such as bird-hits, as reason for the cancellations.

“We will operate the full schedule on our booking system within the next four days,” a Kingfisher spokesperson said.

Aviation experts told the Tribune that the abandonment of such a great number of flights was unacceptable and “unprecedented in India’s aviation history.”

The civil aviation industry is alleged to be working on a bail-out plan to help recover financially-suffering airlines such as Kingfisher and Air India amongst others.