New Delhi: The face off between Air India's warring pilots and the state-owned airline controlled by the aviation ministry could intensify in coming days.
Highly placed government sources said private airlines, both Indian and foreign, are being "informally advised" not to hire pilots who quit from AI, especially those who fly the Maharaja's Dreamliners.
TOI has reported on June 19 that a large number of Dreamliner's senior-most commanders had sought no objection certificates from the airline to quit over successive governments continued failure to have pay parity between pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines (IA) and Air India even eight years after the two airlines were merged. True to this threat, there have been a spate of resignations and the airline is facing a shortage of Boeing 787 pilots today.
"The Modi government is going to treat all AI employees, including pilots, like a family. We will speak to them, hear their problems and find solutions to them. But we will not allow passengers to suffer due to flight delays caused by a sudden pilot shortage or cancellations (due to a threatened strike). If it comes to that, we will deal with a firm hand," minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma told TOI, while promising a "new AI within three months".
04/09/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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Highly placed government sources said private airlines, both Indian and foreign, are being "informally advised" not to hire pilots who quit from AI, especially those who fly the Maharaja's Dreamliners.
TOI has reported on June 19 that a large number of Dreamliner's senior-most commanders had sought no objection certificates from the airline to quit over successive governments continued failure to have pay parity between pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines (IA) and Air India even eight years after the two airlines were merged. True to this threat, there have been a spate of resignations and the airline is facing a shortage of Boeing 787 pilots today.
"The Modi government is going to treat all AI employees, including pilots, like a family. We will speak to them, hear their problems and find solutions to them. But we will not allow passengers to suffer due to flight delays caused by a sudden pilot shortage or cancellations (due to a threatened strike). If it comes to that, we will deal with a firm hand," minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma told TOI, while promising a "new AI within three months".
04/09/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
