Dozens of Air India flights cancelled today

MUMBAI:  Air India passengers faced a stressful day as dozens of flights were cancelled across the country. On Tuesday 650 pilots who fly domestic routes went on strike after the talks with the management and the Chief Labour Commissioner failed. Air India Passengers were left stranded on airports.
“We were going for a wedding in Udaipur, we were meeting people in Udaipur after 6 weeks, and now when we came to airport, all they say is they can’t help,” said passengers.
Harpreet Arora passenger said “I have to look for another flight now.”
ICPA pilots are chiefly demanding the ouster of Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and a fixed pay salary for themselves. As of now, they get paid according to the number of hours they fly, and with the number of route cancellations at Air India, they say their salary has seen a decrease of 40per cent.
Six pilots have already been sacked while two have been suspended. Even as the Delhi High Court termed strike illegal, the civil aviation minister said normal services will resume soon.
Vyalar Ravi Civil Aviation Minister said, “I feel no body can dictate terms to government, especially a few pilots. They are the highest paid people in the country and they cannot dictate terms. What they do is try to threaten the government. Air India management had to obey the orders rather than running Air India.
“We regret the inconvenience, but we want nothing less than pay parity. Not their empty assurances, General Secretary, ICPA Rishab Kapur said.
With a 40,000 crore debt dangling over Air India, the government and the airline have not been in a mood to bow to the demands. Even as the pilots say they cannot be punished for the mismanagement of the airline. But in the end it was the passenger who had to pay the most.