New Delhi:
The government has said Air India pilots are making it impossible to justify the 30,000 crore bailout sanctioned just a few weeks ago for the national carrier. More than 150 pilots have called in sick since midnight, forcing the cancellation of at least five international flights. Ten pilots have been sacked and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) has been derecognised in retaliation.
Medical teams are being sent to the homes of the pilots who did not report to work.
Air India operates about 50 international flights a day.
"A lot of people are against bailing out Air India anyway. And now they (the pilots) are creating a situation where it will be difficult for us to defend it," Mr Singh told NDTV today. He added that pilots should talk to the government if they don't want to negotiate with the management. But harassing passengers, he said, was unacceptable.
There are two reasons that have provoked the new strike. Pilots say the management has failed to follow agreed-upon timelines for promotion. They also say that the 500 pilots that operate international flights should have exclusive rights to be trained to fly the Boeing Dreamliner, which is scheduled to join the fleet this month.
The pilots at Air India, which absorbed domestic flights operator Indian Airlines in 2007, say pooling the staff to fly the Dreamliner will affect their career prospects.
The aviation sector has been bleeding because of high fuel costs, low fares and debts of $20 billion.
Pilots at Kingfisher Airlines, the debt-laden carrier controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, have threatened to strike from Wednesday if their salary dues were not paid.
Mr Mallya said in a letter this week the carrier would start paying January salaries from Wednesday.