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Pilot Exodus: Akasa gets nod to start international flights amid pilot exodus & firefighting
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NEW DELHI: The government has given the nod to 13-month-old Akasa to start international flights which it will do this coming winter. However, for now the youngest Indian airline is fighting on two fronts: an exodus by 43 pilots that has forced it to cancel hundreds of flights in last 2-3 months. Akasa sued these pilots and its lawyer on Tuesday said in a court that the airline was in a “state of crises” and might “shut down” due to their leaving without serving the mandatory notice period of six and 12 months for co-pilots and captains, respectively. A day later the airline management tried to dispel concerns caused by this statement in both employees and passengers alike.
“We are on track to announce a 3-digit aircraft order by the end of this year to serve the growing travel demand,” the airline said in a statement. Akasa co-founder and chief executive Vinay Dube told employees on Wednesday that it had “enough pilots at various phases of their training to fly over 30 aircraft” while describing the exodus as “short-term constraints” that had led to “fly less and give up market share in the short term to offer a more reliable network to customers.” He assured employees that Akasa was “never more confident” about its future. Dube said the airline had enough funds.
Meanwhile about its impending international operations, the airline said: “The aviation ministry has designated (us) an international scheduled operator. This will allow us to fly internationally, enabling us to take one step closer to our dream of launching international operations before the end of this year. We are now working with all relevant authorities on our request for traffic rights and will soon be able to announce the international destination we will fly to. We are targeting destinations within the range of a 737 MAX from India in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has so far not intervened in cases of pilots leaving airlines as there have been several instances where pilots were forced to do so as their employer airlines (this does not include Akasa) were not paying a substantial part of their salary on time for months on end. Akasa has sought court direction to DGCA to implement the same.
“The airlines that do not have funds and are unable to pay on time have been approaching DGCA too to stop their crew exodus. The regulator fortunately did not intervene in those cases as the breach of contract had happened from the employer side. This is an employer-employee question where things like notice periods should not be legally prescribed in an ideal market,” said pilots.
“We are on track to announce a 3-digit aircraft order by the end of this year to serve the growing travel demand,” the airline said in a statement. Akasa co-founder and chief executive Vinay Dube told employees on Wednesday that it had “enough pilots at various phases of their training to fly over 30 aircraft” while describing the exodus as “short-term constraints” that had led to “fly less and give up market share in the short term to offer a more reliable network to customers.” He assured employees that Akasa was “never more confident” about its future. Dube said the airline had enough funds.
Meanwhile about its impending international operations, the airline said: “The aviation ministry has designated (us) an international scheduled operator. This will allow us to fly internationally, enabling us to take one step closer to our dream of launching international operations before the end of this year. We are now working with all relevant authorities on our request for traffic rights and will soon be able to announce the international destination we will fly to. We are targeting destinations within the range of a 737 MAX from India in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has so far not intervened in cases of pilots leaving airlines as there have been several instances where pilots were forced to do so as their employer airlines (this does not include Akasa) were not paying a substantial part of their salary on time for months on end. Akasa has sought court direction to DGCA to implement the same.
“The airlines that do not have funds and are unable to pay on time have been approaching DGCA too to stop their crew exodus. The regulator fortunately did not intervene in those cases as the breach of contract had happened from the employer side. This is an employer-employee question where things like notice periods should not be legally prescribed in an ideal market,” said pilots.
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