Air India's Striking Pilots Have No Rights To Be Trained: Court

A Delhi High Court told striking pilots on Wednesday that they have no right to be trained to fly advanced aircraft like the Boeing 777.

Angered by the continued action of the pilots, who are continuing a strike declared illegal by the high court, acting chief justice A K Sikri and justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw refused to hear their plea on the issue.

The pilots began the strike three weeks ago to protest against the management's decision to train pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines to fly Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The pilots allege that the move will give IA pilots an undue advantage in furthering their careers.

Let them call off the strike, we will then hear the matter. So long as they (Air India pilots) are on strike, the court is not inclined to hear the matter. They cannot go on strike as well as get training simultaneously, the court said, according to a PTI report.

The court pulled up the Air India management for requesting intervention in favor of the striking pilots. The Air India management, through its counsel, Lalit Bhasin, had argued that the single bench order staying the training would cause huge financial loss to the national carrier and would impact its international operations. The court, however, was not impressed.

Posting the matter for hearing in July, the court said that the application to hear the issue could be moved after the pilots halt their strike.

As they are on strike, they have no right to get any training. If the strike is called off they can move an application for hearing of the matter, the court said, according to the PTI report.

Meanwhile, the court made it clear that the ongoing training of the non-striking pilots should continue as per the schedule, and they also would be subjected to the final court verdict on the matter.

Meanwhile, there was no breakthrough in the Air India pilots' strike, as the strike entered day 24 on Wednesday. India's Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh, reiterated the pilots demand will be considered only after they return back to their work.

The striking Air India pilots have continued to insist on their demands even though the Minister had communicated to a group of striking pilots who called on him on May 25 that he would look into their grievances sympathetically, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement, CNN-IBN reported.

The Aviation Ministry has said that it will cut down seven more international schedules from June 1 if the strike continues.