 "Kingfisher pilots, management still differ on salary, schedule")
There seems to be a wide divide between the Kingfisher Airlines management and employees. While the management claimed earlier today that about a 100 Delhi-based employees are keen to join back work unconditionally, senior Delhi-based pilots termed these claims as “complete lies” and said they have already conveyed their no-compromise stand to the management.
“Their (management) body language was good, they seemed sympathetic to our cause but there is no way we will join back work unless our salary arrears for seven months are cleared,” one pilot told Firstpost on condition of anonymity.[caption id=“attachment_479220” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Stuck on tarmac. PTI[/caption]
He said about a 100 pilots (captains and first officers) and 30 odd engineers are stationed in Delhi and they stand united in this decision. This pilot said the CEO conveyed his inability to pay salary dues.
In fact, the pilots and engineers may soon be planning to take legal action against the airline for failing to pay salary dues. This pilot said they will seek legal counsel soon on how to fight the company legally to get dues.
“We dont think we will approach the Labour Commission since this is a long process. We might approach the Delhi High Court but a decision on this is yet to be taken,” the pilot said.
The pilot said no one from Kingfisher’s Delhi operations had yet approached either Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh or the DGCA since they wanted the matter to be sorted out “within the Kingfisher family”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHe also confirmed that there was no likelihood of any flights resuming on Friday and the earliest that Kingfisher seats are showing up on the travel websites is for Monday, 8 October.
Singh had made it clear on Wednesday that whenever Kingfisher wants to get back to flying again, it will have to get permission from DGCA.
Besides getting each of its planes certified by engineers, each flight will also have to be inspected by regional DGCA officials posted at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. CEO Sanjay Agarwal is expected to convey the new date of expected flight resumption to the regulator by this evening.