Air India pilots are on strike over a dispute with management about training to fly Boeing Dreamliners, which the airline will get soon. It is reported that the pilots are protesting against the airline’s decision to not train them for the Boeing 787 aircraft. The pilots went on strike on 7 May 2012 by reporting sick.
Air India's Boeing 747 aircraft.
The airline had issued a court order that declared that the strikes were illegal. Air India has since sacked 71 pilots because they refused to stop the strike.
Due to the strike, the airline has had to cancel nearly twenty 17 international services, and many international travelers have been left stranded.
D Sudhakara Reddy, the national president of Air Passenger Association of India (APAI), said,
Many passengers who are on holiday were caught unawares and had to reschedule their return bookings due to cancelations. Fresh one way return tickets are very expensive and seats are also scarce because flights are full due to holiday travel.
International services affected by the strike are those to Paris, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, New York, and Frankfurt.
Following the sacking of the pilots, it is not clear how this issue will be resolved, and Air India has not yet announced its intention to hire new pilots.
Air India has had to implement a contingency schedule to minimize disruptions and inconvenience to passengers.
