Pandemonium at the airport

With both pilots and government refusing to back down, day one of strikes by Air India pilots witnessed slogan shouting, cancellation of flights, and skyrocketing ticket prices

On the first day of strikes called by pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a body of agitating Air India pilots, the airports were mired in confusion and mayhem. Offices were shut down, flights were cancelled, passengers were stranded, and slogans were shouted, with both pilots and government deciding to stand their ground.u00a0 With the cancellation of more than a dozen flights leaving Mumbai for Delhi, Gwalior, Rajkot and other locations, passengers were stranded at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. Talking to MiD DAY, the passengers expressed their angst over the mayhem.


Message on the wall: Pilots put up posters on the walls of the ICPA
office at the city's domestic airport to protest what they deem is unfair
treatment.u00a0Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Sameer Baderia, whose flight to Gwalior was cancelled, said, "When I reached the airport at 1 pm, I was told that my flight was cancelled. Now I don't have any alternate flight for Gwalior. The airlines have offered me one to Delhi." BCCI Vice President Niranjan Shah was also affected by the upheavals at the airlines. He said, "My flight for Rajkot is cancelled, I have a working committee meeting there." Law student Ruchi Delhiwala's flight to Ahmedabad was delayed by more than two hours. She said, "The executive at the counter could not tell me if the flight was delayed or cancelled."

Skyrocketing prices
The strike by Air India pilots gave a number of private airlines the opportunity to hike their fares. "Ticket prices have shot up. Rates for tickets to Delhi and Bangalore have increased by 20 per cent. The difference is even more glaring in small sector flights like Ahmedabad and Rajkot. An Air India flight to Rajkot usually costs Rs 3,000-4,000. But after the strike, a Jet Lite ticket to Rajkot is costing an exorbitant Rs 16,450," said Devang Sanghvi of Venus Holiday.

Crack down
The Air India management called the strikes illegal, and derecognised the ICPA, sealing its offices in Mumbai and Delhi. Soon, the slighted association members started shouting slogans against the Air India management, in both Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai ICPA members shifted their base to a private hotel near the Mumbai domestic airport.

Captain V K Bhalla of ICPA led the protests, calling the Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav a 'donkey' and levelling a number of allegations against him. He said, "If the Air India CMD doesn't know anything about the turnout plan then that gadha should come to me. Air India compromised its profitable routes to benefit private airlines, which have been floated with underworld money. We are ready to call off the strike, but our demands should not be ignored."

The ICPA General Secretary Rishabh Kapur said, "When the pilots of Pakistan Airlines went on strike with their demands, the Pakistan government speedily sacked the CMD. If the Pakistan government can do it, why can't our government? The CMD should be removed from his post. We want timely salary and increase in flying hours."

Deadlock
Both the management and the agitating pilots were unwilling to step back from their stands. The Union Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi yesterday ruled out bowing down to the demands of pilots, saying that the government would not be cowed down by their attempts to hold the institution at 'gun point' and dictate terms. He said that the pilots should behave in a responsible manner, since a committee was looking into their demands, as promised by him.

Even as the Delhi bench of the High Court asked pilots to resume work in the public's interest, the agitating pilots of Air India made it clear that they intended to continue their agitation. "We will take the matter to the Supreme court. We are not going to call off the strike till our demands are met," said Kapur.

The Other Side
An AI spokesperson told MiD DAY that the airline had operated 70 per cent of its scheduled flights from Mumbai yesterday.