Govt asks AI pilots to resume duties or face any decision

The government today asked the striking pilots of Air India to resume their duties by tomorrow failing which the airline was free to take any decision.

Assuring the pilots, who are on strike for the last four days, that no cost-cutting measure would be taken without taking their views into consideration, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said there is no pay-cut as of now for the executive pilots as the decision will not be implemented without consulting them.

Describing the strike as "matter of concern", the minister, after talking about various "turnaround" schemes by both the government and the airline, asked the pilots to return to their duties.

"Please, cooperate. Join your duties," Patel told the striking employees.

"I hope the entire airline (AI) will come back to full operation from tomorrow, failing which the management will be free to take any decision that it feels is necessary," he said.

However, he also said it is imperative to understand that it is not possible to absorb the current high cost structure.