3 May, 2011, NEW DELHI: A strike on the part of half of Air India’s 1,600 pilots went on for a seventh day on Tuesday, leading the national air carrier to cancel 185 flights. The cancellations resulted in a loss of over Rs 70 crore.
According to a senior Air India official, The huge loss is the result of the cancellation and re-scheduling of around 885 flights that occurred as a result of the ongoing pilots' strike, which started Tuesday at midnight. He said that day seven of the strike brought about the cancellation of 180 flights, leaving only 40 of the airlines’ domestic flights in operation.
The official went on to explain that per a new operations plan, the airline will run some 100-120 flights, including those of low-cost domestic operator Alliance Air, until the strike is called off.
Another change under the plan is the use of only wide-bodied aircraft on the pared down flight schedule. This means that the Airbus aircraft that the company had been hiring from Kingfisher Airlines would no longer be available as an added convenience to passengers.
The Air India official stated that earlier, the company had stopped ticket bookings till May 6. He expects this to curtail the number of passengers and give the required time for the pilots’ strike to be resolved.
Meanwhile, criminal contempt proceedings against the office bearers of the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) were restarted in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. The officials are being charged for continuing strike-related agitations and ignoring the court's stay order on the strike, which ICPA started.
The court appointed senior advocate Sidharth Luthra as amicus curiae (Latin for “friend of the court”) to assist in the impasse between the management and its striking pilots. Luthra’s observations will be on point of law and such information will only be permitted in the adjudication of the case if the bench decides upon it.
The High Court is blaming both sides for the impasse and asking that the airline and pilots "put an end" to the strike immediately. The bench of Justice B.D Ahmed and Justice Veena Birbal criticised both the management and the office bearers of the striking union, accusing them of causing a loss to the nation and asking who would pay back the money being lost as the strike wages on.
Justice Birbal was asking a rhetorical question to make a point. Citizens are being doubly punished over the inability of the two parties to conduct sensible negotiations: Not only have their travel connections to family, friends and livelihood been disrupted by the strike, but also these same people are paying for the company losses and court proceedings with their tax money.
The court hearings continue later today. Prior to the current strike, the government-run airline operated some 320 flights daily and employed 1,600 pilots.