Court order and pilots needed: AI caught in number game

So will the Air India management reduce the total number of long haul pilots now that the Delhi High Court is pushing it to reinstate all sacked pilots affiliated to the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG)?

Top aviation sources point out that the airline does not need the 750 odd long haul pilots it has on its rolls right now - this number includes IPG pilots, AI Express pilots and executive pilots. “We have found that only about 450 pilots are needed. Ultimately, the total number of pilots would be reduced,” these sources said.

This assertion on eventual reduction in the number of pilots comes just when the High Court has asked Air India to seek direction from the Centre and respond by Wednesday (18 July) on whether the committee set-up to look into the reinstatement of sacked pilots can resolve the issue within four weeks.

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AI had sacked 101 IPG pilots after they refused to operate flights and now, even though all IPG pilots have reported back to work, the airline and the IPG are still at war over reinstatement of these 101 sacked pilots. The civil aviation minister had said in the past that sacked pilots would be taken back on a case-to-case basis and the airline is expected to stick to this line in its reply on Wednesday.

Aviation experts say if AI management does take this bold step, it will be sending out a message to other employees that the government will be tough on those who jeopardize operations at a time when the airline is struggling for survival and has just received a Rs 30,000 crore bail out package.

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Besides, many of the IPG pilots anyway stand to lose their licenses if they are unable to clear the medical tests the airline will subject them to before allowing them to operate flights.

The airline has asked pilots to submit medical reports for the last two months when they did not report for work. Verification of the two-month long sickness and related tests and reports may take long and in some cases, licenses could be suspended. As per Rule 42 (2) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, fresh medical examination is needed if a pilot has not reported for work for 15 days or more due to sickness or injury.

The IPG pilots struck work on 7 May and have reported back to duty on 3 July but have still not operated any flights. AI has lost about Rs 700 crore in revenue as 70 percent of its capacity of international routes remained unutilised.