New Delhi: The strike by a section of Air India pilots will on Monday enter the 57th day, to attain the notorious distinction of becoming the second longest strike in the country's aviation history.
The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), the union of Air India pilots, had also struck work in 1974 against cost cutting measures when fuel prices shot up alarmingly.
The 1974 strike lasted for well over 90 days. In 1993-94, a strike by Air India flight engineers lasted for 56 days.
Before the 1993-94 strike, the distinction of the second longest strike was held by AI's sister organisation Indian Airlines, whose pilots went on a five-week stir in 1991-92 demanding more wages....
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09:39 AM, Jul 02, 2012
Hyderabad: Virtually sounding a warning to the striking Air India pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Sunday said the government is not waiting for the pilots to return to work but making plans to move ahead. Reminding the pilots and other employees that their survival was linked to Air India, he said that nobody is going to give anymore public money to the airline and "they will not survive...
05:49 PM, Jun 17, 2012
New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday said that it wanted the Civil Aviation Ministry to sort out the ongoing crisis at Air India "amicably" and that it was not in favour of sacking the striking pilots. Sources of the PMO said, "The PMO wants the Civil Aviation Ministry to come to a solution as soon as possible. The issue should be sorted amicably." They added, "The PMO is...
05:39 PM, Jun 12, 2012
New Delhi: It has been more than a month since a section of pilots of Air India went on a strike. Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said it is up to the Airline management to take strict action now. Sources in the Aviation Ministry say that sacking all 440 pilots affiliated to the Indian Pilots Guild is inevitable. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said it was up to the management...
10:21 AM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: A further crackdown on the striking Air India pilots is being contemplated by the management and that 300 pilots could be dismissed with the 35-day-old strike on Sunday showing no signs of being called off. Around 400 Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) are on strike since May 7 and the services of 101 pilots have already been terminated. Sources in the state-owned airline...
11:19 PM, Jun 10, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Wednesday stood his ground on the Air India strike. He snubbed striking pilots, saying they will have to reapply for a job as the airline will hire new pilots. It has been 30 days since the Air India pilot strike began forcing the airline to suspend key international operations. Meanwhile, in Delhi and Mumbai, pilots of the erstwhile Indian Pilots Guild took...
06:39 PM, Jun 06, 2012
Mumbai: The Air India pilots' strike entered the 30th day on Wednesday and there is still no end to the stand-off between them and the management backed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. The pilots under the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild have now written to the Air India Chairman saying that a channel of communication needs to be opened up between both sides to resolve the current impasse. The IPG in...
11:24 AM, Jun 06, 2012
New Delhi: Air India chief Rohit Nandan on Saturday warned that the airline may not be able to survive in the long run if its pilots don't end their 26-day-old strike. "If the airline has to survive in the long run, achieve the turnaround, it is essential for the pilots to come back," Nandan told IANS. "They (pilots) should think about the long-term impact this strike will have on the...
07:56 AM, Jun 03, 2012
New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday asked three office-bearers of the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), leading the pilots' strike, to appear before it on Monday and explain as to why their flying licenses should not be cancelled for not joining duty. As the strike led by the IPG entered the 25th day, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked the three office-bearers to appear before it on June...
10:48 PM, May 31, 2012
New Delhi: It is day 23 of the Air India pilots' strike and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has reiterated that the pilots' demands will be considered only when they return back to work. Meanwhile, from June 1, the airline will drop seven international flights - so out of 45 flights the airline will operate only 38. The national carrier has lost over Rs 310 crores due to the strike....
10:36 AM, May 30, 2012
Mumbai: Air India board will meet in Mumbai on Monday to discuss the nearly three-week-old strike by over 200 pilots and a host of financial issues. Airline sources said the board is likely to consider the next steps to be taken to deal with the strike, spearheaded by the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild. The airline has sacked 101 pilots and is mulling hiring new pilots to restore normalcy its...
05:34 AM, May 28, 2012
Mumbai: Citing the inconvenience being caused to people due to their agitation, the Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Indian Pilots Guild to first comply with the Delhi High Court order restraining them from continuing their "illegal strike" before sorting out the issues with the management. "You (IPG) may have problems but first comply with the Delhi High Court order. Then you can go sort out your issues. You...
04:56 PM, May 25, 2012
New Delhi: A truce between Air India management and striking pilots may be on the cards after Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday met the pilots. Sources told CNN-IBN that the sacked pilots may be taken back on the case-to-case basis. The Air India management is also likely to hire pilots for international operations soon. Taking a tough stand on the issue earlier, the Aviation Minister had blamed...
01:55 PM, May 25, 2012
New Delhi: It's the 16th day of the Air India crisis. The cracks between the airline management and the Indian Pilots Guild seemed to have gone deeper. The Pilots Guild accused the management of indulging in financial malpractice and mismanagement that has caused the airline losses worth Rs 4,300 crore. "Mismanagement of the company's resources, hostility towards the welfare of erstwhile Air India employees and forced merger are the main...
02:16 PM, May 23, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Monday is scheduled to hold talks with all recognised Air India unions as the pilots' strike enters day 14. The Indian Pilots guild is not a part of the 13 unions invited for the talks, as it was derecognised. The government's appeal to the pilots to resume work went unheeded. "It is more for familiarisation to get to know them. Unions have...
06:18 AM, May 21, 2012
New Delhi: Adopting a 'carrot and stick' approach towards the 11-day Air India pilots' stir, government on Friday indicated it could take back all those sacked, barring the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) office-bearers, if they resumed duty, as it alerted the IAF to set up medical boards to check pilots who have reported 'sick'. After sending doctors to the homes of all pilots who have reported sick, the Civil Aviation...
08:16 PM, May 18, 2012
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by the Indian pilots guild challenging the single-judge order that had restrained the pilots of Air India from going on strike, terming it as illegal. The High Court said that the plea of the striking pilots "cannot be entertained as they are guilty of contempt". The decision by the single-judge bench was upheld by a division bench of Justice...
05:10 PM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: There are cracks in the Indian pilots guild over the ongoing strike by Air India pilots as three pilots have reported back to work on Wednesday. Reacting to the development, Jitendra Awhad, the president of the IPG, dismissed the reports as rumours, accusing the management of playing dirty politics. He asserted that none of the pilots from the IPG or the affiliated group had reported back to work....
07:15 PM, May 16, 2012
New Delhi: There has been no end to the Air India crisis as the pilots' strike entered the eighth day on Tuesday. Air India cancelled around 10 international flights from Delhi and Mumbai this morning. The pilots sent a medical report to the Civil Aviation Minister saying that ill health was an excuse to skip work. While Ajit Singh slammed the report, an Air India team visited the homes of...
11:10 AM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi/Mumbai: As the stalemate between Air India and agitating pilots entered the fifth day on Sunday, the DGCA tonight issued notices to 11 office bearers of Indian Pilots Guild(IPG) after the airline management sought cancellation of their flying licences. The 11 pilots have been given a week's time to file their reply, sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, a day after the state-owned airline wrote...
03:21 AM, May 14, 2012
