On Tuesday, the
40 {+t} {+h} day of the pilot’s agitation, more than 20 executive pilots
reported sick. Executive pilots are senior members of the airline who by virtue
of their seniority spend more time doing managerial duty rather than flying
duty. Executive pilots being part of the management, are generally not allowed
to take part in any industrial action.
The agitation,
which has led to a severe curtailment in AI’s international operations also,
began with pilots suddenly reporting sick shortly before they were to operate
scheduled flights. While AI officials claimed that the truncated schedule was
being maintained, sources maintain that in the coming days there could be some
disruptions.
Senior AI
officials played down the number of executive pilots reporting sick. “Even when
there was no pilot agitation, it was normal for about 11 executive pilots to
report sick. Right now we have a situation where some of the executive pilots
do not have passports and hence cannot be put on international flights. In addition,
at least two executive pilots have cancer patients in their houses to look
after,” a senior airline official said.
With the pilot
agitation showing no signs of ending, the airline has been depending on
executive pilots to maintain a truncated schedule. The sudden decision of
executive pilots to report sick is said to be linked to them being upset about
an increase in their flying duty since the agitation began. Officials denied
this but maintained that airline was following the laid down procedures for the
number of hours each pilot was mandatorily allowed to fly.
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