Crippled carrier leans on other airlines for relief

On the eighth day of strike, the national carrier leased aircrafts and crew from private airlines to fly passengers; aviation ministry meeting ended with no solution in sight

Crippled carrier leans on other airlines for relief

On the eighth day of strike, the national carrier leased aircrafts and crew from private airlines to fly passengers; aviation ministry meeting ended with no solution in sight

The crippled national carrier is now depending on the mercy of other airlines, thanks to the ongoing battle between the top management and the agitating pilots, which entered into its eighth day yesterday. The national carrier, that evacuated people from Japan, Libya and Egypt when these countries were experiencing the throes of political instability or natural calamity, is now flying 18 chartered flights to ferry its own passengers. 16 of them are domestic and two international.

Grounded: Air India operations continued to be cancelled due to the
strike, with more than 90 flights failing to take off yesterday.
pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

"To minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers who are stricken by the irregularities in our operations, Air India has taken a number of measures, including 18 chartered flights, with aircrafts borrowed from Kingfisher Airlines and Air Arabia. Over 12,000 Air India passengers have been transferred to other domestic and international carriers at the four metros," said an Air India spokesperson.

Air India operates about 320 domestic flights daily, of which 90 per cent have not been operating due to the 800 pilots on strike. Disabled by this acute staff shortage, the national carrier was compelled to publish advertisements, inviting tenders for roping in aircrafts on wet lease basis. "We have also published advertisements inviting tenders for wet lease of aircrafts, which means that we will hire the aircraft along with the crew," added the Air India spokesperson.

According to a senior aviation ministry official, the losses incurred by the airlines crossed the Rs 120-crore mark on the eighth day of the strike. He said, "We have stopped bookings, and have leased aircrafts from other airlines. Moreover, we are shifting passengers to different airlines. Cumulatively, this has resulted in an average loss of Rs 120 crore till date, though this is not an accurate figure. In fact, I'm sure the actual figure will be greater than this."

An ICPA spokesperson said, "We are certain that the situation can be resolved through dialogue. We are waiting for the government to come forward for talks, so we can reach a consensus. The ICPA has written to the prime minister again, asking him to intervene in the matter. We are hopeful that he will call us soon."

However, the spokesperson maintained that the pilots would be available for flying in the event of any national crisis, or international upheaval, which required the speedy evacuation of Indian citizens. Meanwhile, the meeting between the aviation minister, civil aviation secretary and the Air India CMD last evening ended with no positive resolution in sight. "The meeting has ended, but no concrete decision has yet been taken. There will be another meeting tomorrow," an official of the civil aviation ministry told MiD DAY from Delhi.

Stricken
On the eighth day of strike around 90 flights, including international flights, were cancelled from Delhi.