Strike Day 4: AI cancels 80% domestic flights from IGI

“We have curtailed more than 80 per cent of our domestic flights and are operating only on trunk routes to metro cities,” an AI spokesperson said.

With the strike affecting only flights being operated on Air India’s domestic sectors,the airline has taken two aircraft from Kingfisher airlines to be operated on the Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Patna-Varanasi-Delhi sectors.

Air India is also finalising a schedule of its flights for operation on the domestic sectors for the next fortnight and will also make available bookings for these flights,an official said.

A total of 820 pilots are on strike,including 160 executive pilots who have reported sick,and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) members. The pilots have said their agitation would continue,and regretted the “adamancy” of the management and the civil aviation ministry not to hold talks with them.

They have so far ignored stern warnings of service termination issued by the management and the Delhi High Court’s decision to initiate contempt proceedings against them for their “utter defiance” of its order on Wednesday to call off the agitation. Pilots said they were willing to court arrest if their demands were not met.

At IGI,the worst affected were the transit passengers who had connecting flights from the Capital.