Two AI flights cancelled as some pilots start agitation

Two Air India flights were on Saturday cancelled due to an agitation called by a section of the national airlines' pilots to protest the up to 50 per cent reduction in their productivity-linked incentives (PLIs).

Air India's flights to Mumbai and Kabul were cancelled this morning as the pilots did not report for duty, airline officials said. The passengers of the cancelled flight to Mumbai have been accommodated in the next flight while those going to Kabul have been lodged in a hotel.

A section of Air India executive pilots had Friday night threatened to go on the agitation to protest the reduction in their productivity-linked incentives (PLIs). Representative of executive pilots Captain Bhalla had said that "the executive pilots have taken a decision to go on strike because nobody is in state of mind to work due to the salary cuts. Starting now, we will not work."

Official sources said the executive pilots were taken on board over the PLI reduction and their move was surprising. There are around 300 executive pilots in the national carrier and since they are part of the airlines management, they cannot form a union and also cannot go on strike, official sources said.

Citing the massive cut in their PLI as the reason for the strike, Bhalla said, "With a stroke of a pen, the CMD Arvind Jadhav has cut 70 per cent salary of all the executive pilots with 50 per cent being evident and 20 per cent hidden." "He is trying to hire foreign pilots at the rate of $13,500 and wants us to work for peanuts," he alleged.

Bhalla alleged that the chairman had not discussed the salary cuts with executive pilots.