Air India pilots' body accuses board member of hiding facts, writes to cabinet secretary

New Delhi: Seeking to draw government’s attention to an alleged criminal case against a top Air India official, the airline’s pilots union ICPA has written to Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha alleging that this officer had “suppressed facts” at the time of his selection.

Air India had recently expanded its board and inducted a new director. The selection of the new director was done by the government’s Public Enterprises Selection Board (PSEB).

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents narrow-body aircraft pilots of the airline, said in its letter that they had come to understand that the new appointee “had suppressed the facts from Air India management of the FIR filed at Sahar police station Mumbai” and that he was released on bail.

A case against him is being heard at a court in Mumbai, the ICPA claimed in its letter to the Cabinet Secretary.

“We as a responsible union feel duty bound to bring this to your notice so that officers with doubtful integrity do not occupy the sensitive and responsible post of functional director in Air India at a time when the government, Air India CMD and the entire workforce is committed in turning around our airline,” it said.

An email and text message to Air India for its response on the issue went unanswered.

Apart from the CMD, government representatives and independent directors, the airline board has four functional directors from the areas of finance, personnel, commercial and operations.

All the five independent directors on Air India Board at present have completed their three-year term and the civil aviation ministry has already recommended names of 15 eminent persons including some bankers and industrialists to the PESB for the positions.

PTI