"All leaves for cockpit crew stands withdrawn with immediate effect. However, leave may be granted in extreme cases depending on the urgency on a case to case basis," read an internal mail to all pilots.

Officials of Air India indicated that many pilots were on leave during the COVID-19 pandemic and the services were not utilised fully. "With situation gradually improving in the aviation sector after the resumption of domestic flights on May 25, the aviation sector seems to be returning on track," said the official to ANI.

ccording to a recent data, passengers travelling by domestic flights are increasing with every passing day. "The number of domestic passengers on February 28, 2021 rose to 3,13,668 on 2,353 flights. This is the highest number since the resumption of domestic flights on May 25, 2020," read the data by Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The move from the national carrier comes at a time when resumption of international scheduled flights is still under doubts and Government of India is yet to decide on the full resumption.