AI's 'sick' pilots continue protest, three flights cancelled

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SME Times News Bureau | 09 May, 2012
The agitation by Air India's 'sick' pilots continued for the second day Wednesday forcing the management to cancel three international flights, an official said.

"Since last night, New Delhi-Singapore, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-New York services were cancelled due to non-availability of pilots. We have made alternate arrangements for passengers," said an official.

To a query on the number of pilots who responded to Air India's ultimatum to report back for duties by 6 p.m. Tuesday evening, the official declined to comment.

However, the derecognised Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) is likely to discuss the issue and the sacking of 10 senior pilots at a meeting later Wednesday.

Adopting a tough stance, Air India Tuesday derecognised IPG when over a 100 pilots went on a wild cat strike leading to four international flights being cancelled.

The pilots owing allegiance to IPG suddenly reported 'sick' en masse, prompting Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to term their protest illegal.

The beleaguered Air India axed two flights Tuesday from Mumbai and New Delhi each and encountered severe disruption on other routes since midnight Monday.

"How can they (pilots) go on strike when Air India is on the path of recovery and when it is not out of the woods?" an angry Ajit Singh asked.

The Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Newark service and Mumbai-Delhi-Hong Kong flights, and the New Delhi-Toronto and New Delhi-Chicago flights were cancelled Tuesday.

Among other things, the pilots are opposing the carrier's plans to provide Boeing-787 Dreamliner to the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots who are now part of the airline.

Ajit Singh dismissed this demand as unfair.

He said while the Delhi High Court had upheld the contention that the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots cannot be trained on the Dreamliner, the Supreme Court had vacated the stay.

"How can the protesting pilots expect the government to go against the Supreme Court?"

The action by pilots has come at a critical juncture when the airline ias hoping to retrieve lost ground with the peak vacation season and had secured a whopping Rs.42,000-crore bailout package.