New Delhi:
On day nine of the strike, three Air India pilots, who were amongst those who had reported 'sick', have returned to work. This comes after 71 of the on-strike pilots were sacked by the Air India management. Civil Aviation Mnister Ajit Singh has said they cannot be reinstated. Since the strike began, the government had made it clear that it is open to talks but the pilots have to return to work first.
The strike, in the middle of a busy summer season, has seen at least 10 flights cancelled every day. Today, at least nine international flights were cancelled.
The strike also comes weeks after the government cleared a bailout of 30,000 crores for the airline.
"This bailout is not without strings. They have to meet strict standards...we can't keep pouring (in) public money. This is the last chance for them to perform," Mr Singh had said in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Mr Singh told Parliament that the strike has caused a Rs 150 crore loss to the already bankrupt airline.
There was uproar in Parliament yesterday with many MPs saying there needs to a detailed inquest, some even suggested a CBI inquiry, into irregularities and steps to end the strike by Air India pilots.
In an attempt to restore normalcy, Air India has begun international operations to the US and Europe as part of its contingency plan even as striking pilots asked the government to initiate preliminary talks. As the stir by the pilots entered the ninth day, the Airlines curtailed and clubbed many of its flights to the US and Europe to stabilise international operations.
The striking Air India pilots, meanwhile, asked the government to at least initiate preliminary talks.
"The government should at least being preliminary talks. We are ready for talks but they should formally invite us for talks to resolve the issue," Jitendra Awhad, chief of Indian Pilots Guild told PTI in Mumbai.