India’s union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has said that there are no possibilities of extending government financial help to the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines.

Private airline, Kingfisher Airlines has appealed to the Indian government for providing financial assistance saying that it will not be possible for it to carry out normal operations without a temporary bank overdraft.

The airline requires the financial assistance to pay its creditors and avoid grounding its fleet, according to Vijay Mallya, chairman of company, which was once a leading aviation firm and was seen by many as an emerging force in the sector.

Singh pointed out those supporting state-owned airlines is the responsibility of the government; however the same principle cannot be applied to the private sector airlines in the country.

He said, “Private carriers will have to convince their bankers that they have a viable business plan and ask for help from the bankers. The government cannot and will not give them working capital to operate the airline.”

The comments come as a response to Vijay Mallya's letter seeking government support for the company. Singh has assured that the government will not cancel licenses of cash-strapped carriers on safety concerns and that the ministry will work to help the sector recover from the present crisis. An earlier report by the regulator had said that some licenses of airlines violating safety norms might be cancelled.

The civil aviation ministry has also appealed to the Airports Authority of India to grant Kingfisher additional time to pay its dues.