Air India has extended the deadline by the end of this week for pilots who are yet to sign the revised contracts and accept the revised salary structure. Two unions, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) have opposed certain terms and conditions of the revised contracts.
The previous deadline for all pilots to accept the contracts was April 30. The decision to give more time comes after some pilots, who have not accepted the salary structure, requested an extension, sources claim. Air India has not yet released an official statement about it.
Air India held a discussion with employees after two pilot unions opposed the revised salary structure and HR leave policies. One of the issues in the new agreement is the airline’s assurance of 40 hours of flying allowance every month which was 70 hours in the pre-pandemic days.
Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson recently said that most of the flying crew has accepted the new contracts.
The two pilot unions held a meeting on May 9 to discuss the issue, with many members retaining their stance of not accepting the contracts. Sources have revealed that the meeting cantered around the idea of pilots not signing the revised contract as some provisions were questionable.
The development comes on the backdrop of the airline flooded with applications of experienced pilots previously working for Go First. The airline recently stated that it received around 700 applications in just one week.
The airline had recently held walk-in interviews across various cities for pilots, and the response was so good that Air India extended the interviews by another day.