Tag: Air India

Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group on Thursday took over Air India and vowed to turn the loss-making carrier, it had founded but had lost control nearly seven decades back, into a world-class airline. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, which in October last year beat a consortium led by rival SpiceJet promoter to win the bid for the national carrier, first called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before heading to the Air India office where the takeover formalities were completed. A new board of directors met shortly thereafter, formalizing the management takeover. Both the government and Tatas made separate announcements of ... Read more

Air India to resume London-Mumbai flights In view of the covid-19 situation, Air India has announced that it will operate flights from London Heathrow Airport to Mumbai from May 17 to May 31. Air India has said that passengers should strictly abide by the covid directives and regulations. Air India had earlier canceled all flights to London from April 24 to 30 following a UK government decision to put India on the Red List in view of the covid-19 situation. “Air India will operate flights from London Heathrow to Mumbai from May 17 to May 31 (excluding May 18, 23, ... Read more

Some airlines have increased fares to Rs 1.5 lakh in the wake of the UAE’s ban on flights from India to UAE taking effect at midnight today. The situation was aggravated when Air India and Air India Express booking sites went down for three days. Today, Air Arabia operates additional services from Kochi. Tickets for three of the six services to Sharjah soldout on yesterday afternoon. Some companies have tried to introduce chartered flights but have not received permission from the Department of Civil Aviation. You can reach the Gulf countries via Nepal but you have to stay in Quarantine ... Read more

Air India has been allowed to conduct ground handling operations at US airports. The airline has called the move as an opportunity for the future. The development has overturned a US Department of Transportation`s July 2019 order whereby Air India`s right to self-handle at US airports was suspended.   An Air India spokesperson said the airline was not affected due to this restriction by the US Department of Transportation to self handle at the US airports as it did not conduct any self-handling of its flights in the US. “However, the relaxation will give us an opportunity to self handle at ... Read more

Around 50 Air India pilots have received termination letters and have sought the intervention of the management on the issue of “illegal termination” of pilots from service. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), in a letter to Rajiv Bansal, Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director, said that around 50 pilots have received illegal termination letters from the Personnel Department in blatant violation of company’s operation manual and service rules. “What’s happening? Around 50 of our pilots have been terminated overnight unceremoniously without proper procedure being followed. A rude shock for those who served the nation in this pandemic putting the ... Read more

Air India has closed down five of its stations in Europe in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, namely Vienna, Milan, Madrid, Copenhagen and Stockholm. “In view of #COVID19, Air India (AI) has decided to close down its stations in Vienna, Milan, Madrid, Copenhagen, & Stockholm. AI would immediately initiate action for closure in consultation with local lawyers & advise the timelines by which the stations will be closed,” read a tweet from news agency ANI. According to reports, Air India is likely to cease all future flights to these countries as it was not financially viable for the airline ... Read more

Alliance Air employees union president Binoy Viswam has questioned the Government’s decision to privatise Air India and introduction of the leave without pay policy for its employees. He stressed that over the past two years, the entire Air India organization has been severely affected by the Government’s decision to privatise the airline.  ”The uncertainty over the future as well as the Government’s decision to cut wages and introduced a leave without pay policy has caused great mental stress to all employees. In such circumstances, it is possible that the maintenance and safety of aircraft is also jeopardised and it is ... Read more

Air India’s northern regional office has formed a committee to identify “redundant” or “surplus” employees who would be asked to go on a compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years. P S Negi, Regional Director (RD), Northern Region, Air India, issued an order stating that an empowered committee is being constituted for the identification of such employees, news agency PTI has reported. Negi’s order, which has been accessed by PTI, said the general manager (personnel), general manager (finance) and departmental heads will be the members of the empowered committee. “GM (Personnel) will share the staff list with ... Read more

In yet another setback, 60 Air India pilots who flew repatriation flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad have tested positive for coronavirus, the airline has said in a letter to the government. The Vande Bharat mission to repatriate Indians came “with a heavy price to pay for those on the frontline. As of date, at least 60 plus pilots have been tested Covid positive,” senior pilots of the national carrier have stated, in the letter addressed to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri. “This has had a ‘devastating effect’ on their family members,” said the letter. The pilots are already ... Read more

Air India on Friday said its financial situation is very challenging due to the coronavirus pandemic and its leave-without-pay (LWP) scheme for employees is a “win-win” situation for them as well as the management. The national carrier, in a press statement, said the scheme primarily enables employees to proceed on LWP “on voluntary basis”. The airline had issued an internal order earlier this week asking its departmental heads and regional directors to identify employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory LWP for up to five years. “Air India is in a ... Read more

Air India has decided to allow its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) to recommend that a non-performing staff member be compulsorily sent on leave without pay for a period of up to five years. Employees will be assessed by a board in the following categories: Suitability, efficiency, competence, quality of performance, health of the employee, instance of non-availability of the employee for duty in the past as a result of ill health or otherwise and redundancy. Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal can now send employees on leave without pay “for six months or for a period of two years extendable ... Read more

Air India has withdrawn job offers sent out to around 180 trainee cabin crew members amid the economic slowdown in the aviation sector due to the coronavirus pandemic, news agency PTI has reported. “The airline has taken a decision to withdraw job offers for about 180 trainees who were to join as cabin crew after completing their training as the aviation sector has been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said an airline official. In a letter sent to one such trainee cabin crew member on July 6, the airline said, “In view of the current aviation scenario, it ... Read more

India is considering establishing “individual bilateral bubbles” with the US, the UK, Germany and France allowing airlines of each country in the pact to operate international passenger flights, the Aviation Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry’s statement has come after the US Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it has barred Air India from operating chartered flights between India and the United States from July 22 without its prior approval, in an apparent retaliation for the Indian government not allowing American carriers to operate between the two countries. The Aviation Ministry said, “As we contemplate further opening up in ... Read more

The US government has restricted charter flights from India, accusing it of “unfair and discriminatory practices” by violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries, Bloomberg has reported. Air India has been making flights to repatriate its citizens during the travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but also has been selling tickets to the public, the US Department of Transportation alleged. At the same time, US airlines have been prohibited from flying to India by aviation regulators there, the department said in its order. The situation “creates a competitive disadvantage for US carriers,” the agency said in a ... Read more

Air India has introduced a “shorter working week scheme” under which its permanent employees, except pilots and cabin crew members, can opt to work for three days a week at 60% salary. This measure has been introduced in order to improve the airline’s cash flow position amid the coronavirus pandemic, news agency PTI has said. “The permanent employee who opts for such a scheme can avail this for a period of one year,” according to the airline’s senior officials. The pandemic has impacted the aviation industry significantly, and all airlines in India have taken steps like slashing salaries of employees ... Read more