New Delhi, June
1:
With the pilot
agitation continuing for close to a month, Air India may look at hiring some
pilots, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Ajit Singh, said on Friday.
The agitation
has seen a severe curtailing of the long haul international flights operated by
the airline. Addressing a press conference, the Minister said that a new
Government panel was now looking at which international routes operated by the
airline were able to meet their costs and which were not.
On the Boeing
787 Dreamliner aircraft joining the airline fleet, the Minister announced that
the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs will take a view on what compensation
the aircraft manufacturer should pay Air India. The compensation is being
sought in view of the close to five-year delay in delivery of the first
aircraft.
Declining to
reveal the amount being sought in compensation, Air India officials said that
the aircraft had been cleared by a team of the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation.
“At the moment
we have 32 pilots who fly the wide body aircraft in the fleet that have been
trained to fly the Boeing 787. In addition we also have 16 pilots who operate
the narrow body fleet who have also been trained to fly the new aircraft,” a
senior AI official said.
The airline
fleet consists of wide body aircraft like the Boeing 777 and narrow body like
Airbus A-320 family of aircraft.
New
international airports: Meanwhile a proposal to declare five airports including
Tiruchy and Lucknow as international airports will soon be taken up by the
Union Cabinet.
The Cabinet nod
for the proposal will allow foreign airlines to fly to these airports and
enhance air connectivity.
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