Friday, 11 May 2012

15 more AI flights cancelled, ground staff to go on strike

The Air India crisis enterted the fifth day on Saturday and passengers continued to suffer as 15 international flights were cancelled, media reports said.

The ongoing agitation by pilots owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) is severely affecting the passengers, who
alleged that they were not being informed about the cancellation of their flights in advance.

On Friday, Air India sacked 25 more pilots taking the total number of sacked pilots to 71 in four days, even as the pilots reached out for talks. Air India also wrote to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to scrap their flying licences.
The crisis in Air India worsened on Friday with the airline management sacking 25 more pilots and writing to DGCA to cancel the licenses of 11 dismissed office bearers of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) after over 200 striking pilots refused to return to work.
However, the airline said it was putting in place a sustainable contingency plan to mitigate the inconvenience caused to them.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh to ensure airfares don't go up because of the pilots' strike.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has warned airlines not raise airfares to unreasonable levels following a sudden spurt in prices of tickets due to a strike by Air India (AI) pilots.
Kingfisher Airlines pilots, meanwhile, withdrew their stir after being promised that January salaries would be paid by May 15.

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