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AI claims return of some striking pilots

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI APRIL 30. Air India today claimed that some of the striking pilots had ignored the directive of their union, the Indian Pilots' Guild, and had reported for duty and said that it was restoring some flights in the Gulf sector.

The AI spokesman, however, refused to give the number of pilots who had come forward to operate flights. The Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai-Jeddah-Mumbai flight was reinstated today, while three more flights in the Mumbai-Bangalore-Dubai-Mumbai and the Mumbai-Kozhikode-Dubai-Mumbai sectors would be operated from tomorrow.

It was planning to operate two more flights from Friday. The AI is considering the hiring of pilots of Indian origin working for other international airlines and now laid off. Expediting the training of the trainee pilots is also being contemplated to induct them by May-end instead of June-end.

Meanwhile, 27 of the 45 suspended SARS-scared striking pilots filed a petition in the Mumbai High Court today challenging their suspension. The petition, expected to come up for admission on May 2, calls the AI action of illegal and rejects the management view that the pilots had breached the service conditions by refusing to operate flights unless the management certified that the cabin crew had not travelled to the SARS-affected sectors in the previous 10 days.

PTI reports:

The Indian Pilots Guild president, Capt. Kenneth Khan, has been issued a suspension notice by the AI for refusing to operate a flight from London. "Capt. Khan was issued with a suspension notice last night for refusing to operate the Boeing 747 flight out of London last week after he was denied a certificate that none of the accompanying crew had not travelled to SARS-affected region for the last 10 days," AI sources said today.

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