Aviation Ministry gets strict on Air India pilot agitation

Virtually sounding a warning to the striking Air India pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Sunday said the government is not waiting for the pilots to return to work but making plans to move ahead.

Reminding the pilots and other employees that their survival was linked to Air India, he said that nobody is going to give anymore public money to the airline and "they will not survive for too long" if the company does not become competitive.

"We are not waiting. We are making plans. If you take the pilots trained in V-737 or Airbus 320, (in) three to six months they can be trained to fly these planes.

Asked whether the measures such as sacking the striking pilots were being considered, he replied: “The Government will not be vindictive. It is in their (striking pilots') interest to resume duties. If they do not, what else can we do?”

Terming the strike as illegal, he pointed out that even the High Court had directed them to resume work.

Mr Singh said the Government has approved a Rs 30,000-crore package to revive the carrier. “The government will give no more public money to Air India. It (the carrier) should become competitive with the rest of the industry, for otherwise, it cannot survive for long. The (striking) pilots should understand that their survival depends of Air India's survival.”

When pointed out that some foreign airlines dubbed the proposed 49 per cent FDI in Indian aviation as unviable, the Minister made it clear that managements of domestic airlines will remain in the hands of Indians. “We are not asking anybody (foreign airlines) to take it (FDI offer). It is not compulsory. Those who do not want it, it is their prerogative,” he said.