By IANS,
Mumbai : Twenty-six Air India flights, including seven on international routes, were cancelled till 2 p.m. Sunday as striking pilots continued their agitation for the second consecutive day.
“International flights from Delhi to Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, Kathmandu and a few other destinations were cancelled as some pilots put on duty did not report for work,” a senior Air India official told IANS.
The striking pilots refused to hold talks with the airline’s management at Air India’s Mumbai headquarters, demanding that the management first revoke its decision to cut productivity-linked incentives (PLI).
Around 400 pilots have threatened to go on mass sick leave to protest the airline’s decision to cut their incentives. They rejected the management’s offer for talks Saturday and said they will stick to their agitation plan.
“We all are going on mass leave. Pilots will not report for duty for coming days,” Captain V.K. Bhalla, who leads the agitating pilots, told IANS.
He also said the pilots would not take part in any talks with the management unless it revoked the decision to cut productivity linked incentives (PLI). “One thing is for sure. No one is going to take part in the talks unless they assure us on revoking our PLI,” Bhalla said.
Eleven flights were cancelled Saturday as several pilots failed to report for duty.
The beleaguered carrier had Wednesday decided to cut the productivity linked incentives of employees by 25 to 50 percent as part of its cost cutting measures.