They have been on the front line of the country’s battle against COVID-19 while transporting masks, ventilators, vaccines, international aid as well as repatriating stranded Indians from around the world, and while doing so they have lost many colleagues in the line of duty. Air India’s pilots have now written to the management expressing their despair at the lack of a suitable compensation scheme during illness or death accusing it of “indifference and borderline neglect”.
Captain Amitesh Prasad operated a San Francisco to Bangalore flight on April 15. On his arrival, he began to complain of COVID-19 like symptoms. Five days later, his test results confirmed the infection. Over the next 20 days, he fought for his life in a Mumbai hospital but eventually lost his battle.
A pilot friend, who didn’t want to be identified, said his family was likely to be handed over a cheque of ₹10 lakh, which is paltry. The airline had introduced the scheme last year for deaths due to COVID-19.
In a letter to the airline’s top brass, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) has demanded compensation schemes in case of death that are on a par with other Public Sector Undertakings and private airlines.
“The need of the hour is to immediately provide a befitting compensation to our colleagues who have already paid the ultimate price,” the IPG wrote to Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Rajiv Bansal on Saturday. They have urged that the airline “mend this dismaying gap in the company’s HR policy so that we may know that our loved ones will be looked after by our company should the worst happen to one of us.”
The letter cites the example of IndiGo, which offers ₹ 5 crore to the next of kin in the event of a death, and ₹ 3-4 crore if a pilot is declared permanently medically unfit.
To make matters worse for pilots at Air India, they have been facing delays for past several years in payment of flying allowances that make up 75% of their takehome salary.
SpiceJet staffer’s letter
But the concerns are not just limited to Air India. A disgruntled SpiceJet staffer shot an angry mail to the airline’s CMD, Ajay Singh,on Sunday demanding that the airline pay full salaries to its employees. The airline had deferred a large chunk of the April salary.
“Oxygen cylinders, medicines and cargo are not flying by itself - from loaders to commercial staff, to the engineering and flight operations -SpiceJet employees in flesh and blood are braving the COVID pandemic and serving the company,” airline employee Meghna Malhotra wrote to Mr. Singh.
