AI waives refund, cancellation charges for passengers

In a relief for those flying with Air India, the national carrier today said it would not levy any cancellation or refund fee on passengers affected by the ongoing strike by a section of its pilots.

"In the event of flight disruptions/cancellation/ combination/delay of over an hour, full refund will be given to passengers, irrespective of the fare rules," the state-run airline said in a release this evening.

The airline has also decided that no penalties will be levied on tickets refunded/re-validated/re-issued/re-booked on a subsequent flight, due to flight disruptions, cancellation or combination or over-flying/delay of over an hour, it said.

Around 800 pilots of Air India, representing the union of the erstwhile India Airlines, have struck work from midnight. So far 12% of the flights have been canceled across the country.

Till 1600 hrs, the airline had to cancel 12 flights from Mumbai and 24 from Delhi, its main hubs, an official said.

To overcome the crisis, AI has drawn up a contingency plan, which includes roping in executive pilots, and it will be put into effect from tomorrow, the official said.

The 800-odd striking pilots owe allegiance to the Indian Commercial Pilot's Association (ICPA). The merged entity --Indian Airlines and Air India -- has about 1,200 pilots. The remaining 400 pilots who mostly operate international flights belong to the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG).

The ICPA had given a strike notice late Tuesday night demanding higher emoluments and parity in pay and allowances with erstwhile pilots belonging to erstwhile Air India.

The average earning of a co-pilot of erstwhile Indian Airlines range between Rs 2.25 and Rs 3.25 lakh per month and for a commander it is Rs 4-5 lakh per month, the airline said.