Salaries delayed at Air India; pilots’ body writes to management

After the debt-ridden Air India (AI) failed to pay its pilots salary for May, Indian Commercial Pilot’s Association (ICPA) wrote to AI chairperson and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola last week. In its letter, ICPA questioned AI’s financial management.

The letter states: “On-time performance is expected from each and every employee and not just pilots. It should apply as much as to the movement of flights as it does to the payment of dues.”

ICPA alleged that this is the fourth consecutive month for which the pilots have not received their salaries on time.

“In case a flight gets delayed, even by a minute, a full review is done by the committee and e-mails are sent to the pilots asking for inputs and as to why no action should be taken against them. In this case, salary is expected to be delayed by 15 days...We would like to ask you how is it that no one is being held accountable in this situation,” the letter reads. The association also alleged that AI was disrespecting their professional capability by not paying them their flying allowances, which constitutes 80% of their salary.

ICPA also said engineering department does not have spares for repairing aircraft lying idle. They asked the airline to ‘make sure’ that the situation is not repeated in the future and to stop making mockery of the airline under the garb of ‘no money’.

In March, the association had also written to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about delay in salaries.

Upon contacting, AI spokesperson remained unavailable for comment.

The government is trying to sell a stake in the national airline to private investors, but the last Expression of Interest (EoI) in May for disinvestment in the airline got no bidders. As a result, the Centre will soon finalise a revised bidding plan.