New Delhi: The national carrier Air India has prepared a contingency plan to counter a strike threat by the 800 member-strong Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) to ensure that the impact of the strike on operations is minimal.
Top sources in Air India say that the contingency plan includes operating wide-body planes in the domestic and short-haul international routes, taking around 15 planes on wet lease — which comes with crew — and requesting Indian Air Force (IAF) for pilots on a short-term basis.
“We have a contingency plan in place. The commercial department has been asked to keep all approvals ready to take 15 planes on wet lease as soon as the pilots go on strike. Plus, we will also operating 13 long-haul aircraft that are not being used due to one reason or the other. Five of our planes will come from VIP fleet, We have two spare Airbus 330s and six Boeing 777s that are not being used currently because of their being fuel guzzlers,” said a top source in Air India.
24/01/13 Mihir Mishra/Fiancial Express
