Aviation regulator Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed new draft rules that will make it mandatory for cabin crew to give a minimum notice period of three months to the airlines which employ them before they (cabin crew) quit their jobs. The DGCA has proposed that if this is not done, then the concerned persons may not be able to work as cabin crew for a minimum period of two years.
The DGCA has proposed this after concluding that cabin crew have been resigning suddenly resulting in cancellation of flights at the last minute causing inconvenience and harassment to passengers. The DGCA, in its proposed draft rules, has observed that if cabin crew resign without giving three-months of notice and if this results in sudden cancellation of flights, then it would be treated “as an act against public interest”.
In its proposed draft rules, Director-General of Civil Aviation Arun Mishra stated, “It has been observed that cabin crew are resigning without providing any notice to the airlines as a result (of which) airlines are forced to cancel their flights at the last minute. Such resignation by the cabin crew and the resultant cancellation of flights causes inconvenience and harassment to passengers. Sometimes, such an abrupt action on the part of the cabin crew is in the form of a concerted move, which is tantamount to holding the airline to ransom and leaving the travelling public stranded. This is a highly undesirable practice and goes against the public interest.”
“In view of the above, it has been decided by the government that any act on the part of the cabin crew including resignation from the airlines without a minimum notice period of three months, which may result in last-minute cancellation of flights and harassment to passengers, would be treated as an act against the public interest,” the DGCA has noted, in its proposed rules.