DGCA turns down Kingfisher’s plea to take action against pilots
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DGCA turns down Kingfisher’s plea to take action against pilots
NEW DELHI: The aviation regulator has rejected Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines' plea to take action against pilots who quit the airline without serving a six-month notice period.
Recently, 24 pilots quit Kingfisher Airlines due to non-payment of salaries, refusing to serve the stipulated notice period. The airline, in turn, asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take action against these pilots, which the regulator turned down.
This could lead to a possible exodus of pilots from the Kingfisher Airlines as they may feel emboldened by the regulator's ruling.
DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan clarified that the pilots had quit because they had not been paid for some months, which is a violation of terms of appointment.
"How can action be taken against employees who have not been paid salaries? Kingfisher Airlines had abrogated the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) by not paying salaries. If they are quitting due to non-payment of salaries, notice period is not required," Bhushan said.
As part of this CAR, a pilot has to serve a notice period of six months before leaving the airline. But in case their terms of appointment are not being followed, pilots can leave the airline without serving any notice period. Payment of monthly salaries is defined as one of the terms of appointment in the CAR.
A message sent to the airline on the matter went unanswered.
Due to cash crunch, the airline is not only delaying employees' salaries, but is also advertising for routes that it is not flying on, causing inconvenience to passengers. In November alone, the airline cancelled 175 flights, the DGCA has found in a financial audit.
"I have asked the carrier to present a timeline-bound recovery plan on Monday, whose implementation we will monitor closely. In case of non-compliance, all options are open before us," Bhushan said. These options include asking them to scale down operations and even cancelling their Air Operator Permit.
Kingfisher Airlines ended 2010-11 with a loss of Rs 1,027 crore, and it has increased in the first two quarters of this fiscal.
DGCA turns down Kingfisher’s plea to take action against pilots - The Economic Times
Recently, 24 pilots quit Kingfisher Airlines due to non-payment of salaries, refusing to serve the stipulated notice period. The airline, in turn, asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take action against these pilots, which the regulator turned down.
This could lead to a possible exodus of pilots from the Kingfisher Airlines as they may feel emboldened by the regulator's ruling.
DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan clarified that the pilots had quit because they had not been paid for some months, which is a violation of terms of appointment.
"How can action be taken against employees who have not been paid salaries? Kingfisher Airlines had abrogated the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) by not paying salaries. If they are quitting due to non-payment of salaries, notice period is not required," Bhushan said.
As part of this CAR, a pilot has to serve a notice period of six months before leaving the airline. But in case their terms of appointment are not being followed, pilots can leave the airline without serving any notice period. Payment of monthly salaries is defined as one of the terms of appointment in the CAR.
A message sent to the airline on the matter went unanswered.
Due to cash crunch, the airline is not only delaying employees' salaries, but is also advertising for routes that it is not flying on, causing inconvenience to passengers. In November alone, the airline cancelled 175 flights, the DGCA has found in a financial audit.
"I have asked the carrier to present a timeline-bound recovery plan on Monday, whose implementation we will monitor closely. In case of non-compliance, all options are open before us," Bhushan said. These options include asking them to scale down operations and even cancelling their Air Operator Permit.
Kingfisher Airlines ended 2010-11 with a loss of Rs 1,027 crore, and it has increased in the first two quarters of this fiscal.
DGCA turns down Kingfisher’s plea to take action against pilots - The Economic Times
