Air India cancels 185 flights on pilots' strike; losses top Rs 70 cr

New Delhi: National carrier Air India cancelled some 185 flights on Tuesday as nearly half of its 1,600 pilots continued their strike for the seventh day, resulting in a loss of Rs 70 crore, even as the Delhi High Court blamed both sides for the impasse.
Speaking on the situation on Day Seven of the strike, a senior Air India official said: "We are operating around 40 flights on our domestic network today and some 185 flights were cancelled."
The official said, the pilots' strike, which started Tuesday midnight, has thus far caused cancellation and re-scheduling of around 885 flights and a revenue loss of about Rs 70 crore.
He said the airline has adopted a new operations plan where it will run some 100-120 flights, including those of low-cost domestic operator Alliance Air until the strike continues.
Earlier, the airline hired an Airbus aircraft of Kingfisher Airlines to lessen the burden of passengers. Under the new operations plan, the airline will fly fewer flights and only use wide-bodied aircraft.
"Currently, our curtailed operations are on. We had earlier stopped ticket bookings till May 6. Passenger loads will come down and we will be able to tide over this period," the official said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court Tuesday restarted hearing criminal contempt proceedings against the office bearers of the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) for continuing their agitation and ignoring the court's stay order on the strike.
03/05/11 IANS/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India May 2011