Air India’s 120 Airbus A-320 Pilots Resign Amidst Salary Hike Demands
Mumbai: Around 120 Airbus A-320 pilots resigned from the Air India (AI) after their demands of salary hike and promotion were not considered by the Air India management. As a result, the National carrier is facing mass resignation by its pilots since they are unhappy with their current salary and promotion. This comes after the Central government decided to initiate the process of disinvestment of Air India’s stake which currently has a debt of over Rs 60,000 crore. At present, the Air India has a total of 2,000 pilots out of which 400 are executives.
Speaking to news agency ANI, an Air India pilot who recently resigned, said that the management should listen and understand our problems. “The management has been ignorant of our demands pertaining to salary hike and promotion since a long time,” said the pilot. He also added that due to the repayment of outstanding hefty loans, the pilots are also unable to withdraw their salaries on time. “The pilots are first hired on a contractual basis for five years with a low salary and with the hope of getting a salary hike as they gain experience but they have never responded to our grievances,” the pilot claimed. Air India spokesperson when queried whether Air India would suffer due to the mass resignation of the pilots, he said, “Air India operations will not suffer at any cost due to the resignations as we have surplus pilots.”
The pilots who have resigned said that they are sure of getting another job somewhere else as the airline market is currently open and booming. Currently, IndigoAir, GoAir, Vistara and Air Asia, Indian airlines are operating Airbus A-320 flights. Reportedly, Air India might also face flight delays or cancellations from October 18 as the Public Sector oil companies threatened Air India to discontinue fuel supplies to the national carrier at six major airports in the country due to payment issues.
(With ANI Inputs)