New Delhi: A grounded fleet, ticket cancellations and unused labor have cost Air India Rs.100 crore in the seven days since the pilots went on strike, an official said on May 14.
The airline scrapped 14 international flights on the seventh day of the agitation on May 14, while its low-cost international wing, Air India Express, cancelled four flights. The carrier’s domestic operations have been in disarray.
“The total losses in the week are around Rs. 100 crore. We had to face ticket cancellation, unused labor and an entire grounded fleet of our 777s. We also have to cancel 14 flights for the day,” a senior Air India official with the operations arm, said.
Trouble started for the airline on May 8 when pilots belonging to IPG took mass sick leave protesting the move to provide Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines.
The pilots had earlier said they were open to talks. But the government has not till now accepted the offer, saying there would be no negotiations till the pilots returned to work.
