Air India pilots still on strike, over 50 Air India flights cancelled

With the Air India pilots” strike entering its second day on Thursday, over fifty flights were cancelled while several others were delayed.

In Delhi, 33 domestic flights were cancelled, as the airline management decided to operate only those flights for which cabin crew as well as adequate pilots was available.

Similarly, unavailability of cockpit crew forced Air India to cancel around 19 flights, including two international ones, out of Mumbai.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the agitating pilots to call off their strike in “larger public interest,” but they seem to be no mood to return to the cockpit.

They are likely to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order.

The High Court order came soon after the Air India management sacked six leaders of the Indian Commercial Pilots”” Association (ICPA).

Among those whose services have been terminated are ICPA President Captain Ashim Bhinder and General Secretary Captain Rishabh Kapoor.

Declaring the strike as illegal, the management derecognised the ICPA and sealed its offices in Delhi and Mumbai.

The ICPA has about 700 members who use to work for Indian Airlines till it was merged with Air India in 2007.

The ICPA claims that while Air India pilots enjoy a huge fixed salary component, the same is almost minuscule for former IA pilots in 2007.

The association claims that while their entire pay package depends on the hours they fly every day, the airline has been curtailing the number of flights by 30 to 40 percent.