Jet Airways' pilots irked over payment delay, seek prompt action

Jet Airways' pilots body National Aviator's Guild (NAG) on Monday protested against the airlines for not giving salaries to its employees for the last three months and organised a solidarity meeting here.

Speaking to ANI, Captain Asim Valiani, Senior Commander and Vice-President of NAG, said: "Pilots, engineers and managers have not received their salaries for the last three months, and salaries have been irregular for the last seven to eight months."

"Government had promised us that it will intervene through the State Bank of India (SBI) and it is serious regarding saving 20,000 jobs. But we have not seen the money yet," he added.

On March 31, the NAG had decided that if the airlines' management failed to clear dues of pilots and Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs), it would take a final decision on April 15 about its future course of action.

An SBI-led consortium has taken over the debt-ridden airlines after chairman and founder Naresh Goyal stepped down from the Board on March 25.

Burdened with high operating costs and a huge debt, the airline has been facing the biggest crisis in its history.