Air India has declared the strike of its Pilots illegal. A spokesman of Civil Aviation ministry told AIR correspondent that the management of the Air India has also derecognised the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, ICPA, spearheading the strike. The ICPA offices in Delhi and Mumbai were sealed early this morning. According to Air India, around 20 flights have been cancelled since midnight. These included AI 469 Del-Raipur via Nagpur, AI 214 Del- Kathmandu, AI 216 Kathmandu-Del, Del-Bangkok, Del-Srinagar and Del-Leh. Passengers of two flights to Mumbai were accommodated in one flight. Eight flights from Delhi and 11 from Mumbai were cancelled. Several other flights are also delayed due to strike which began from midnight. The strike began after the talks between the Pilots and Air India management broke down. The striking pilots are demanding pay parity and better working conditions besides a CBI inquiry into the alleged scams of airlines and cancellation and withdrawal of profitable routes given away to either private airlines or foreign carriersMeanwhile, Air India management has appealed to the pilots to restrain themselves and not go in for the irresponsible act, especially when the process of conciliation is on. A spokesman of AIR India said the Government, the Civil Aviation Ministry and all stakeholders are seriously involved in resolving the issue. He said that the Justice Dharmadhikari Committee, formed to look into HR related issues of Air India, has started functioning from this Monday and it is expected to submit its recommendations in three months. Meanwhile, private airlines have hiked their fares by up to 50 per cent on the Mumbai-Delhi sector in the wake of the strike of Air India Pilots.