JOIN USA section of Air India pilots has expressed concern over the 26-year-old fleet of Airbus A320s in the national carrier and asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ground these planes for safety reasons.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), one of the pilots’ unions in Air India (AI), wrote a letter to DGCA on Thursday in this regard.
“The classic A-320 aircraft which are 26 years old are being operated with repetitive snags endangering flight safety. The DGCA should not permit AI to operate these lethal snag-prone classic aircraft in lieu of passenger safety,” the letter said. The letter also spoke about the show-cause notice issued for reporting late for duty. The ICPA asked the DGCA why it was ignoring the plight of AI employees due to delay in salary.
“We wonder, how have you ignored the stressful working conditions and plight of our pilots, cabin crew, engineers and all other employees due to non-payment of full salary and allowances for last almost 32 months, when you were very prompt in this aspect in regard of Kingfisher and SpiceJet employees. How is it that not receiving salary is a matter of flight safety for Kingfisher and SpiceJet employees but not for Air Indian?” it said.