AI loses around Rs 500 cr, extends contingency plan till July

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Cash-strapped Air India has suffered a loss of around Rs 500 crore due to the 45-day-old pilots' strike, forcing the airline management to extend its curtailed international flight plan till July 31.

Air India has lost around Rs 500 crore in terms of revenue in the ongoing strike, as the airline has been incurring losses to the tune of about Rs 10 crore per day, sources told on Thursday, a day after Air India CMD Rohit Nandan said the national carrier was also 'making some substantial savings'.

"It was not possible to calculate the savings now, as we have to fulfil our commitments to our vendors on quarterly or half-yearly basis. At least we are making savings on some of the flights like Delhi-Toronto, on which we were losing Rs 300 crore annually," he had said.

The ongoing stir has forced the airline management to extend its contingency plan for the fourth time, since the strike began on May 7, till July 31.

"We have decided to extend our interim schedule for international flights, as part of our contingency plan, till July 31 or unless the strike is called off before that day," an Air India official said.

Under the interim schedule, Air India would operate 38 international flights per day instead of 45 that it operates under normal conditions.

First the schedule was to be operational till May 25, but was extended till June 1 and then again till June 30. While most flights affected are those to Europe and North America where a curtailed operation was on, the only destinations not covered under this schedule are Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul and Toronto.

All flights to UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Singapore, Thailand and SAARC countries were being operated as per normal schedule. Air India is planning to begin its Jeddah and Tokyo flight from next month.

"Presently, some of our aircraft are engaged with the Prime Minister's foreign visit. We will soon begin our Jeddah operations once they are available," the official said. Domestic operations of Air India are also being run normally and there have been no disruptions due to the present agitation, he said.