Air India pilots to meet with aviation minister to discuss demands

India's debt-laden national carrier Air India Ltd's agitating pilots may meet Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh Monday to discuss their demands, hoping the move could end the impasse between them and the carrier's management, the Mint reported citing the airline's unidentified executives.

On Sunday, Air India canceled most of its international flights to London, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Paris, Hong Kong, Osaka and some West Asian countries as well as some domestic flights due to the ongoing agitation.

The pilots' stir has caused losses of at least Rs 120 million per day in revenues to the the cash-deficit carrier and an additional Rs 50 million every day on account of providing accommodation and other facilities to the stranded passengers.

The Air India's pilots Saturday said that they were ready for discussions, but without any pre-conditions. The government has said that it is open to talks, provided the pilots first resume work and call off the strike unconditionally.

In view of the ongoing agitation, the cash-starved airline has prepared a contingency plan, under which executive pilots will operate seven international flights and perform some executive functions on the ground. It has also cut the number of flights to Europe and the US from 32 to 14 a day, media reports said. The Supreme Court Friday asked both the sides to sit down and resolve their issues, after the Delhi High Court termed pilots' action illegal.

Meanwhile, Air India has so far sacked around 71 agitating pilots and also filed a petition with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel the licenses of 11 office bearers of the de-recognized Indian Pilots Guild (IPG).

Over 150 pilots of the national carrier called in sick Tuesday, protesting the training being imparted to the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots to fly Dreamliner and demanding exclusive rights to operate the aircraft.

The striking pilots of the erstwhile Air India are also demanding security of their seniority and career advancement prospects which they feel will be hampered post the merger of Indian Airlines (domestic) and pre-merged Air India in 2007.