36 AI flights cancelled as pilots decline to operate
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At least 36 Air India flights, including some from and to international destinations, were cancelled on Saturday as about 50 pilots reported for duty but did not operate flights protesting delay in payment of wages.
The government said a solution to the problem could be found only next week and most of the wages might be paid by next the end of next week. 28 flights were cancelled from Delhi till 5pm and eight from Mumbai, as the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) office-bearers held a meeting with the airline management here.
The agitating pilots reported for duty but said they were under stress due to the financial problems they were facing and therefore unable to undertake flight duties, airline sources said. The ICPA, which has not given a call for the agitation, appealed to the agitators to return to work. While most of the long-haul international flights to destinations like London, New York, Toronto, Tokyo and Chicago operated as scheduled, flights to or from Kabul, Kathmandu, Muscat and Abu Dhabi stood cancelled.
Confusion prevailed at the IGI Airport here with a large number of passengers queuing up at Air India counters to find the status of their flights as several domestic flights were delayed and some others combined. While sympathising with the pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said: ‘The employees have a problem, they have not been paid for one-two months. Allowances have not been paid for quite a few months now. We understand their problem but Air India's finances are in a bad condition. Their accounts were frozen yesterday.’
Maintaining that he would meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee next week over the Air India issue, Singh said: "By the end of next week, may be we will be able to pay...I won't say all the allowances and salaries will be paid but most of it should be paid."
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