Jet set go: Airline grounded staff hit cloud nine on resuming work

After two days of protests at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, employees went to work on Friday — as they would have ‘any other day’. Dressed in their uniforms, badges in place, they reached the airport early in the morning to inquire about their flight. They were promptly handed the schedule card. Employee Rajat Sharma said: “We have our jobs back but have been told we shall formally join on October 19. Some of us have been asked to join the next day, October 20.”

After the formalities were over in the morning, it was time for celebrations — and also for a trip to thank God. A batch headed for the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara for a brief prayer. Next stop was an amusement park in Rohini. There would be many more stops throughout the evening, this correspondent was told.

Sharma’s colleague Priyanka said: “Everything was normal in office today. Our bosses had been told to prepare a roster with all of us in it. We have also been assured that no employee would be sacked in future without notice.”

A day after it allied with Kingfisher Airlines to share resources and flying routes, Jet Airways had sacked 1,900 employees but was eventually forced to take them back under mounting political pressure. Chief Naresh Goyal has said he took the decision as ‘head of the family’ and that he would continue to find ways to make the company fly profitably.