“How do you think we must be feeling like? it affects us all, in every airline,” an irate GoAir crew member remarks, as an unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 brings the Indian aviation industry to a grinding halt.
The crew member, in his early twenties, feels that although the Indian government’s decision to all domestic and international flights till 31 March 2020 will impact workers in the aviation industry, they cannot risk their health to keep operations going.
But suspension of commercial flights is not where the problem began. In early March, as more cases of coronavirus emerged in India, international flights were the first to take a hit. Several Indian carriers cancelled international flights and by third week of March, Indigo, India’s largest airline by market share, had not only cancelled most of its international flights, but also 25 of them in the domestic market.
While India suspended all commercial domestic flight operations from midnight of 24, PM Modi in his address to the nation on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lock down period, to arrest the spread of coronavirus. It is not yet clear if the flight ban, officially till 31 March, will get a similar extension.
The fall in air passenger demand pushed tickets prices down, forcing IndiGo to announce a 10-25% pay cut for employees.
Speaking on the condition of absolute anonymity, an Indigo cabin crew with over five years of experience says that she will be taking a 10 percent cut in pay from April, while pilots and captains will take home 15 percent less than their current salary.
But she doesn’t blame the airline at all. In fact, she feels that given the present environment, such cuts are important if airlines are to survive the storm of coronavirus.
24/03/20 Anthony Rozario/Quint
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The crew member, in his early twenties, feels that although the Indian government’s decision to all domestic and international flights till 31 March 2020 will impact workers in the aviation industry, they cannot risk their health to keep operations going.
But suspension of commercial flights is not where the problem began. In early March, as more cases of coronavirus emerged in India, international flights were the first to take a hit. Several Indian carriers cancelled international flights and by third week of March, Indigo, India’s largest airline by market share, had not only cancelled most of its international flights, but also 25 of them in the domestic market.
While India suspended all commercial domestic flight operations from midnight of 24, PM Modi in his address to the nation on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lock down period, to arrest the spread of coronavirus. It is not yet clear if the flight ban, officially till 31 March, will get a similar extension.
The fall in air passenger demand pushed tickets prices down, forcing IndiGo to announce a 10-25% pay cut for employees.
Speaking on the condition of absolute anonymity, an Indigo cabin crew with over five years of experience says that she will be taking a 10 percent cut in pay from April, while pilots and captains will take home 15 percent less than their current salary.
But she doesn’t blame the airline at all. In fact, she feels that given the present environment, such cuts are important if airlines are to survive the storm of coronavirus.
24/03/20 Anthony Rozario/Quint
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