Mumbai:
If you're considering flying Air India, you should know that your pilot has disclosed that he or she may have trouble concentrating.
In a letter to the airline's management, two unions that represent 1000 Air India pilots have said, "Any human being put under such extreme stress is liable to perform poorly. In case of any unfortunate incident/accident the entire blame will be on the current CMD and top management." (
Read: Air India pilots' letter on stress, lack of concentration)
The cause of the stress is the fact that pilots haven't been paid by the airline for two months. The financial pressure, pilots say, is affecting their concentration and their level of alertness when they are at the controls. They say they will not accept responsibility for any consequent loss or damage.
Gulp.
The pilots sent their letter to the management and to the aviation sector's regulatory body - the DGCA - on June 9. They say many of them are defaulting on loan payments and are distracted by how to make ends meet.
It's not just pilots who are waiting for their cheques. All 30,000 Air India employees have not received their salaries since May.
The management has told pilots that their dues will be settled next week. But the pilot who signed off on the warning letter has been grounded.
And in what's likely to provoke more tension, the management has sent a letter that suggests the pilots are to blame for their financial mess. In his note last week, Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav, says, "The company's difficult financial situation has led to banks, financial institutions, vendors and suppliers asking for higher costs to cover credit risk. The recent strike and consequent huge losses to the tune of Rs 250 crore forced the company into a hand-to-mouth existence."
The 10 day strike by Air india pilots in May did the bleeding airline no favours. But the 40,000-crore debt is attributed largely to gross mismanagement and miscalculations. The Air India Maharajah is a pauper.