Striking Air India pilots say 99 percent of their demands should be met(Lead:AI strike)

New Delhi, May 9 (ANI): The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) on Wednesday said that its striking members would be willing to go back to work if 99 percent of their demands were met.

The president of the IPG, Jitendra Awhad, accused the government of closing its doors to talks on resolving the pilots issue.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, however, denied Awhad's allegations.

The crisis at Air India continued on Wednesday with no end to the stalemate between the management and the pilots. This comes after the cash-strapped national career sacked 10 agitating pilots, derecognised their union, the Indian Pilots Guild, and sealed its offices as around 160 pilots failed to join duty.

Air India issued a statement on Tuesday night. It says, "The pilots chose to deliberately damage the image and reputation of the company by disrupting flights by proceeding on mass sick leave. This most extreme and irresponsible agitation aimed at disrupting flight schedules and inflicting inconvenience on our esteemed passengers. As a consequence, Air India has derecognized the Indian Pilots Guild and sealed its offices. It has also terminated the services of and dismissed ten office bearers of the Guild."

The pilots met the Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday to find a way out but talks were inconclusive.

The pilots' move had forced the airline to cancel more than five international flights since Monday night. Confusion prevailed at the Delhi Airport on Tuesday with many passengers waiting to fly out. It was the same story in Mumbai.

One flight was delayed and two international flights were cancelled on Wednesday morning. (ANI)