NEW DELHI: Several hundred flights have been cancelled and thousands of passengers affected but the striking faction of Air
India pilots seems to be getting increasing support from several quarters. The latest to join the clatter of voices in favour of the pilots is Jet Airways' Society for the Welfare of Indian Pilots. The organization wrote to civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi on Sunday, extolling the commitment of AI pilots to the country and asking the government to start fair negotiations with them.
The support comes at a time when the management is actively considering sacking the pilots on stir. Sources said the management is waiting till Monday, when the high court is expected to pass a judgment on the contempt notice to the striking pilots. "Once the judgment is passed, the management will start issuing termination letters. A list of pilots on strike was sent to the court on Friday for initiating contempt proceedings," said sources.
The letter supporting the strikers, signed by SWIP general secretary Capt Karan Chadha, says: "We call on the government and your ministry to take a more holistic and compassionate approach and implore you to direct the
Air India management to immediately retract the dismissals of the ICPA members/office bearers, and then enter into meaningful negotiations to find a way forward that is fair and acceptable to it`s pilots…"
The letter says the AI pilots had resorted to the strike only after they were left with no other recourse. "They are fighting to ensure their rights, they are taking a stand against corruption and nepotism, as well as gross mismanagement of India's flag carrier."
It says that Air India pilots had put aside their personal safety and operated flights into
Egyptduring the recent turmoil there and into Japan in the midst of its nuclear crisis. "Going beyond the prescribed regulations on fatigue and stress, they operated special flights during the
Iceland volcano under dispensations from the
DGCA," it
AI CMD Arvind Jadhav also issued a letter to his staff on Sunday, accepting that there were problems with the airline but that he was not to be blamed. "We all condemn corruption in public life, and culprits must be punished. All actions spoken of (by the strikers) are unforgivable, but occurred many years ago, for which current administration cannot be held responsible," it says.
On Sunday, the airline operated 41 flights across the country of which 13 were from Delhi. An airline spokesperson said that curtailed schedules would continue till at least May 5. The disruption has hit thousands of passengers, the worst affected of which are those in transit.
"I arrived in
Delhi from
Chicago and had to catch a connecting flight to Varanasi. There is no clear information from the airline and I have been asked to wait till they can accommodate me on another flight. I will probably catch a train on Monday now," said Ramit Batra, an engineer.
The impasse between pilots and management showed no signs of abating with management reiterating that it would not talk to the pilots unless they called off the stir. The court had asked striking pilots to return to work, failing which it had asked them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. The next court hearing is on Monday after which ICPA office bearers are also anticipating arrests. "If it does come to that, all 800 of us are ready to court arrest together," said a senior flight commander.
There is also trouble brewing at the airline`s hub at IGI Airport's terminal 3, where AI-SATS, a consortium of AI and
Singapore Airline terminal services, handles a large part of the ground services. Here, sources said, the AI staffers are earning less than their counterparts elsewhere, and spurred on by the pilots' agitation, could also be contemplating some form of dissent. If that happens, AI's international services, so far barely affected, would also come to a grinding halt.
