Air India pilots' strike enters Day 8

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): The crisis in Air India continued as the pilots strike entered its eight-day on Tuesday.

According to television channel reports, 20 to 24 flights were cancelled today.

Dubbing their stir "meaningless" after a court order, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said: "This strike is meaningless now. What are they striking for? You cannot undo what the Supreme Court has done."

"The Supreme Court will undo it, they will have the final say. It was just an interim order, so their appeal would still be heard in the Supreme Court in the coming time," Singh told media here.

"As far as faster promotion, that is part of the Dharmadhikari Report. Rationalization of pay scale, rationalization of promotion opportunities, all those are part of Dharmadhikari Report, which we are going to discuss with them anyway very soon. Third thing is their dues to which government has already agreed. Yes, we will pay them," he added.

Taking a dig at the pilots, Singh said the government was trying its best to end the impasse, but the pilots were least concerned about the plight of passengers.

"Well, we are also trying to end the impasse. We are as concerned with passengers as those pilots are. So, it is not the question of throwing weight behind anybody. They are concerned, naturally everybody is concerned, you are also concerned. What is the point if they don't follow the High Court's orders? If they don't see the plight of their customers, if they don't see the hurt that Air India is going through then what is the point," he added.

About 500 Air India pilots who fly international routes have been demanding their colleagues from former state-owned partner Indian Airlines should not be trained to fly Dreamliners, as it may hurt the career prospects of original Air India staff.

The two companies were merged in 2007 but there have been problems with integration. Air India's purchase of Dreamliners was also criticised by a central auditor last year for "imposing an undue long-term financial burden". (ANI)