Return to the cockpit, plead Jet ground staff

The Jet Airways’ ground staff and cabin crew made an emotional appeal to the 500-odd ‘ailing’ pilots of the airline on Thursday, requesting them to resume work. On the third day of the mass sick leave taken by pilots in protest against the management, a group of around 25 staff members approached the pilots stationed at Hotel Atithi near the domestic airport, requesting them to come back to work.

The crew carried placards which said ‘we request you to please come back to work’. The staff had earlier decided to take a peace march to the Santa Cruz airport but dropped the plan as they did not get permission from the police. The crew at the airport were also found distributing roses to the guests whom they had to transfer to other airlines. Nearly 500 pilots had reported sick on September 7 as a protest against the management, affecting 197 domestic and 37 international flights.

The crew members said that they were sad with what was happening at a time when the airline revenues were picking up. “We had just started getting more guests booked with us. The pilots’ leave has been a major setback,” said Sangeeta Patil, guest relations executive, Jet Airways.

The ground staff spoke to captain Girish Kaushik, president of National Aviator’s Guild (NAG), and asked him to amicably settle the issue with the management. Kaushik will be meeting the management on Friday.