The Supreme Court had on Friday asked both the sides to sit down and resolve their issues.
As the striking Air India pilots on Saturday said they were ready for talks without any pre-conditions, the airline’s management and the government took a stern stand and asked the pilots to start the flights first, ending the five-day strike.
The Supreme Court had on Friday asked both the sides to sit down and resolve their issues.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday, president of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) Jitendra Awhad said the government and the AI management should respect the SC’s order and sit on the negotiation table. “We do not have any pre-conditions for the talks, we are ready to talk with the management and the government, now the ball is in the management’s court,” Awhad said.
Representatives of the IPG said, “All pilots (including those who have been dismissed) would return to work or none.”
However, the management and the government are clear that the pilots should first end the strike and report to work and then all their demands will be discussed. Taking a tough stand, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh asked the striking pilots to start the flights first.
“The first priority must be to make sure that the passengers feel they are being listened to. So let the pilots decide that. Ask for forgiveness from passengers. Start the flights ... we can talk on anything after that,” Singh said.
To find a way to resolve the crisis in the ailing national carrier, Singh has invited two of his Opposition predecessors, Shahnawaz Hussain and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, for informal talks on the issue.
Asked when they would call off their stir, Awhad said. “Services of close to 75 pilots have been terminated. When our offices are sealed, we cannot enter Air India premises. How can we join work?”
The AI management said only 71 pilots have been sacked. “The pilots who have not been sacked can report to work, no one has stopped them from entering the premises,” an AI official said.
With both the sides involved in a ‘who-blinks-first’ duel, it is the passengers who are suffering. At least 16 flights were cancelled on Friday night-Saturday morning, leaving the flyers hapless and inconvenienced. “16 of our flights originating from Delhi and Mumbai have been cancelled,” an AI spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the AI management is working on a contingency plan to start its west-bound flights at the earliest. “Out of the 16 flights that we operate to the US and Europe, we are planning to start at least seven by early next week,” said an AI official.
This was being done, so that at least the backlog of passengers can be cleared. “The nitty-gritty is being worked out. We should have a proper plan in place by Monday and we should be ready to implement the contingency plan by early next week,” said the official.
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