The Civil Aviation Minister Mr Praful Patel has urged the agitating pilots to join duty by tomorrow failing which the management will take appropriate action.Talking to reporters in New Delhi Tuesday evening, he assured the pilots that no cost cutting measure will be taken without taking their views into considerations. He said there is no pay cut as of now for the executive pilots as the decision will not be implemented without consulting them.Mr Patel said that government is working on a turn around plan for Air India and it is committed to see the national carrier’s flag flying high.AIR correspondent Souvagaya reports that with no sign yet of pilots returning to duty, the Air India management has stopped the bookings till further notice. And most of the flights for tomorrow morning are being cancelled so that the passengers do not face any problem at the last moment. The government has also asked private airlines to accommodate Air India passengers and not to raise fares. Even as the stand off continues between the pilots and the management, it is the passengers who are being put into hardship. (passenger byte) Besides difficulties to the passengers, the cash strapped national carrer has already incurred huge loss running into several crores. The agitating pilots say that turnaround in the airlines can not be brought by cutting down their salaries and incentives. Hopefully, the management and the pilot will be able to sort out the issues sooner rather than later.
News On AIR | September 29, 2009 9:01 PM
Praful Patel urges pilots to resume duty by Wednesday or face action