Over the past several weeks, troubled Indian airline Kingfisher has been losing its pilots to rival carriers. But on Monday it got word from the Directorate General of Civilian Aviation (DGCA) that it could lose more than its flight captains. It could lose its license to fly.

The DGCA is reportedly considering the cancellation of Kingfisher's flying permit after the airline submitted their summer flight schedule this week with just 15 to 16 aircraft in the lineup compared to 28 last month, the Times of India reported on Monday. Kingfisher flies Airbus.

"The airline not only lacks aircraft, they also lack funds for day-to-day operations. They are failing to meet their flight schedule, causing inconvenience to the passengers and also they failed to give salaries to their employees for past four-five months," official sources said. The sources said Kingfisher may be planning a quiet shutdown. Top executives have been asked to meet the DGCA to present a clear picture as to how the company can continue flying commercial passengers.

The whole picture is likely to become clear in few days, according to the report.

Last week, Financial Times reported that the airline had cut more international flights.

The airline has been desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy since late last year. Number 49 on the 2011 Forbes billionaire list, Kingfisher CEO Vijay Mallya, has been reducing overhead by laying off workers, or simply not paying them. Mallya has been also trying to convince lenders to keep new credit lines open for the airline, but India's finance minister said that state-run banks would not provide any new capital to Kingfisher because it was not in a position to repay the loans.

Kingfisher has a net debt of about US$1.3 billion and needs at least US$400 million by April to stay in business, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy.