The agitation by sections of Air India pilots appears set to escalate.
On Tuesday, the 40th day of the pilot’s agitation, more than 20 executive pilots reported sick. Executive pilots are senior members of the airline who by virtue of their seniority spend more time doing managerial duty rather than flying duty. Executive pilots being part of the management, are generally not allowed to take part in any industrial action.
The agitation, which has led to a severe curtailment in AI’s international operations also, began with pilots suddenly reporting sick shortly before they were to operate scheduled flights. While AI officials claimed that the truncated schedule was being maintained, sources maintain that in the coming days there could be some disruptions.
Senior AI officials played down the number of executive pilots reporting sick. “Even when there was no pilot agitation, it was normal for about 11 executive pilots to report sick. Right now we have a situation where some of the executive pilots do not have passports and hence cannot be put on international flights. In addition, at least two executive pilots have cancer patients in their houses to look after,” a senior airline official said.
With the pilot agitation showing no signs of ending, the airline has been depending on executive pilots to maintain a truncated schedule. The sudden decision of executive pilots to report sick is said to be linked to them being upset about an increase in their flying duty since the agitation began. Officials denied this but maintained that airline was following the laid down procedures for the number of hours each pilot was mandatorily allowed to fly.