New Delhi: Air India Friday sacked another 25 protesting pilots – taking to 71 the number dismissed – and asked aviation regulator Directorate General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel their flying licenses.
The development comes even as the airline said it is working on a contingency plan to salvage its international operations as the pilots’ agitation entered its fourth day, forcing the airline to cancel 12 more flights and reschedule over a dozen. “We have sacked 25 more pilots and have moved the DGCA for cancelling their flying licenses,” a senior Air India official told IANS. The airline has sacked 71 pilots in the four days since the agitation began Tuesday and derecognised their union – the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG).
The airline also announced that it is working on a contingency plan.
“We are working on a plan. This involves operating a bare minimum number of flights on the international sector. This plan may come into effect from early next week,” the official said.
“We have plans to bring in executive and reserve pilots to operate the flights. We also have plans to wet lease aircraft to operate on the affected routes.”
The airline has stopped bookings on some of its ultra long-haul routes till May 15, effectively cancelling more than 15 flights per day to major sectors such as the US, Europe, and some other destinations like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Air India also had grounded the bulk of its Boeing 777 fleet. The airline has 17 B-777 aircraft.
“We have almost grounded the fleet of 777s. Some are stationed in Mumbai and the rest are in Delhi. Some are operating to destinations like Hong Kong and Shanghai, depending on the availability of pilots,” a senior official in the operations arm of the airline told IANS.
The airline is losing an estimated Rs.10 crore per day due to the agitation. Maintaining the grounded aircraft would further add to its expenditure.
The carrier’s low cost subsidiary, Air India Express, also cancelled five flights on the day on which Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and apprised him about the steps being taken to resolve the crisis. The civil aviation minister earlier asked the pilots to return to work. “If they want to talk, they should come to work, and all issues can be discussed… We are going to take a long-term view,” Ajit Singh told reporters after meeting the prime minister in his Parliament House office.The pilots had said they were open to talks. But the government did not accept the offer, saying there would be no negotiations till the pilots returned to work.
Ajit Singh said that he informed the prime minister that all efforts are being made to resolve the crisis. (IANS)
