LAHORE - Indian state-owned airline Air India has closed down its offices at Lahore and Karachi after wrapping up its operation from Pakistan in recent past. A CAA senior official, seeking anonymity, said the airline was facing financial crunch due to which its management also failed to pay the salaries of its staff in time. The officer said that there was no money outstanding against the airline payable to CAA. An Indian news agency added that airline delayed payment of Marchs salary to its employee by a month as it had to meet year-end expenses for various purposes. The salary for the month of March, 2010, was paid to the employees of Air India on April 7, 2010, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The above postponement was necessitated due to committed March year-end payments to oil companies, airports authority of India, foreign and Indian vendors and because of repayment of loans, Patel said. He said the government is continuously monitoring the financial position and restructuring plan of Air India. Replying to another question, the Minister said Air India has decided to close its offices at Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan due to the lack of operations from these cities.