New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The Air India pilots’ associations have asked their members “not to accept any duty during weekly offs and rest period” including undertaking pre-flight Covid tests.
Indian Pilots Guild and Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association, in a letter to Capt. R. S. Sandhu, Director (Operations), Air India said, “It has been brought to our notice that pilots are frequently being planned for COVID tests during their weekly offs or post-flight rest periods. As you are aware, any task that flight crew members are required by the operator to perform… is clearly defined as Duty in the DGCA FDTL CAR and the current Air India Flight Crew FDTL Scheme. This practice therefore represents a flagrant violation and must be discontinued immediately”.
“We hereby request you to inform the concerned departments to strictly abide by the Air India FDTL Scheme and not infringe upon ‘uninterrupted rest.’ We are accordingly directing our members to ensure strict compliance, i.e “Not to accept any duty during weekly offs & rest period”. This includes preflight Covid Testing”, they said in the letter.
Pilots have warned they will take recourse if any pilot is coerced. “If we find any pilot irrespective of grade/designation being coerced to violate Air India FDTL Scheme, we will be forced to seek recourse as well as lodge a formal complaint with the concerned agencies”, they said.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
