After a 58-day long industrial action, Air India’s pilots are finally ending a crippling strike due to pressure from the government and the court. The pilots stated they would return to work within 48 hours.
There has been no statement from Air India yet about the positive turn of events, but the carrier's website does show rescheduled flight timings after a long string of cancellations (click here for schedules).
The strike centred on training of pilots for the carrier’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the first of which was originally scheduled for delivery at the end of May but was later postponed indefinitely (see story here).
The industrial action was deemed illegal by the Delhi High Court back in early May, when the agitation first started (see story here), and the government has stated that unless the pilots get back to work there will be no further discussion of their demands.
The incident has been damaging to both parties: Air India has since sacked 101 pilots and almost all of its international services have come to a halt, adding to its financial woes.
In addition to the strike, the state-owned airline has recently been facing numerous setbacks including having its membership for Star Alliance put "on hold" (see story here) because it failed to meet required standards by deadline.
For more information, visit www.airindia.in
Alisha Haridasani
