Air India pilots are threatening to strike after their talks with the airline management and aviation ministry failed on the issue of training for the Boeing-787 Dreamliner.
Air India pilots are unhappy that pilots of associate Indian Airways (IA) are being trained for the Dreamliner in equal numbers.
The bad feeling between Air Indian pilots and their counterparts at Indian Airways has been growing over the Dreamliner issue.
Sources in the 500-strong AI pilots’ union, Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG), told the Times of India that about 100 pilots had reported sick on Monday and the number may swell to 250 by Tuesday.
An IPG member said they were looking to secure their future as the B-787 was ordered for their career progression.
“If half of those planes go to IA pilots, then our career progression gets stuck. We had prepared a draft that secured our interests but neither the management nor the ministry accepted it,” the source said.
The ministry has warned that it will shut Air India if the strike snowballs and will take strict action against the pilots.
