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: Three DGCA officials have been suspended for issuing licences classifying 28 flying schools as charitable non-profit entities instead of fully commercial entities, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday. He said based on investigation report submitted by the Chief Vigilance Officer in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it was decided to suspend the three officials alleged to have been involved in preparation of the list...
08:49 PM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: The rift between the Air India staff and the government has worsened with the government now accusing the employees of causing massive financial losses. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told Parliament on Thursday that the Vigilance Department was investigating 161 cases of irregularities. The ministry accepted that there has been an increase in tipsy pilots and cabin crew. It also says that the pilots allegedly pocketted over Rs...
01:18 PM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Thursday said that the government will convene a meeting of all the recognised Air India unions next week to discuss Justice Dharmadhikari report on HR issues. Singh said he will discuss the issues of promotions and career progression of pilots in the meeting. The meeting will have representatives of all the recognised unions, which means the Indian Pilots' Guild that is spearheading...
11:21 AM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: Fourteen pilots and 31 cabin crew members have been found reporting for duty under the influence of alcohol till March this year, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday. Of the total 14 pilots and 31 cabin crew who failed the pre-flight breath analyser test, a large number of pilots and cabin crew were of Jet Airways, he said in reply to a question in Lok Sabha....
12:24 AM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: The government's appeal to the striking pilots of Air India have fallen on deaf ears. The strike has entered its ninth day on Wednesday. Fifteen international flights from Delhi and Mumbai were cancelled on Wednesday. Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had said that the government would hear the pilots' woes unconditionally as long as they returned to work. The strike has...
08:56 AM, May 16, 2012
After spending over a year in jail, former Telecom Minister A Raja, an accused in the 2G scam case, is finally out on bail. ...
11:06 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday said that Air India will have to perform to get a bailout package from the government and that it was the last chance for the national carrier. The civil aviation minister informed Parliament that Air India lost Rs 150 crore due to ongoing strike of the pilots. He further urged the pilots to get back to work, saying "if pilots...
08:17 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Accusing Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh of making policy statements on Air India outside Parliament during the session period, the CPM, the JDU and the BJP on Tuesday moved a privilege notice against him in the Lok Sabha. "We have tabled a notice of privilege against the Civil Aviation Minister (Ajit Singh) in the House and demanded that he come and explain why he made policy statements on...
04:39 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Several Air India pilots submitted medical certificates to the Air India management even as their strike entered the eighth day on Tuesday, leading to 24 flights being cancelled. Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said that the pilots were making false claims of being sick and not reporting for duty. An Air India team visited the homes of the striking pilots and prepared a medical summary of the Delhi base...
02:00 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday said that Air India pilots were making false claims of being sick and not reporting for duty. Singh made the statement after several pilots submitted medical certificates to Air India management even as their strike entered the eighth day on Tuesday, leading to 24 flights being cancelled. The Minister vented his anger, saying the sick claim was bogus and it was evident...
01:07 PM, May 15, 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
The pilots' association says they are willing to talk but if the government continues to act obstinate the crisis may escalate. ...
09:04 AM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Monday said that the Air India pilots should end the strike before talks. He said that he had no information about the meeting with the pilots. "There was no information, no meeting. My PA told me they have come but there was no plan, I was not aware. I didnt know they came and went away. I have already said they should...
02:36 PM, May 14, 2012
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh repeated that he won't talk to the Air India pilots till they resume work. ...
01:04 PM, May 14, 2012
New Delhi: There has still been no end to Air India's troubles. It's been a week since its pilots went on a strike that has so far cost the already debt-ridden national carrier almost Rs 96 crore so far. The Maharaja's contingency plan was supposed to take effect on Monday but now sources say that it hasn't even been finalised as yet. That is because Air India's Executive Pilots Association...
07:52 AM, May 14, 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
Mumbai: Backing protesting Air India pilots, Jet Airways pilot body (SWIP) on Sunday called for immediate reinstatement of those sacked and appealed to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to intervene and get the issue resolved at the earliest. "We are calling for immediate reinstatement of our IPG colleagues and good faith negotiations between management, IPG and ICPA in the hope of reaching an agreement which is acceptable to all parties,"...
01:57 AM, May 14, 2012
As agitating Air India pilots refuse to relent, Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said that privatisation could be the only way to save the national carrier. Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, he hinted looking at that option once the airline becomes viable. Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate. With the Air India polite strike continues, we ask how did the airline get into this unholy mess. That's...
10:43 PM, May 13, 2012
Mumbai: Backing protesting Air India pilots, Jet Airways pilot body (SWIP) on Sunday called for immediate reinstatement of those sacked and appealed to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to intervene and get the issue resolved at the earliest. "We are calling for immediate reinstatement of our IPG colleagues and good faith negotiations between management, IPG and ICPA in the hope of reaching an agreement which is acceptable to all parties,"...
07:59 PM, May 13, 2012
