Tata Group-owned Air India on July 1 said it will set up a training institute at Amravati in Maharashtra with an aim to train 180 commercial pilots annually.

“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-licensed Flight Training Organisation (FTO) at the Belora Airport will be the largest such institute in South Asia and become operational from the first quarter of next financial year,” Air India said in a statement.

According to the airline, the upcoming facility will be the first by any Indian airline in the country and will have 31 single-engine aircraft and three twin-engine aircraft for training.

Air India said it has got the tender from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) to establish and operate the facility for 30 years.

“The FTO at Amravati will be a significant step towards making Indian aviation more self-reliant and offering more opportunities to the youth in India to fulfil their ambitions of flying as pilots. The young pilots coming out of this FTO will fuel Air India’s ambition of becoming a world-class airline, as it moves ahead in its transformation journey,” said Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO at Air India.

“The facility, which will be developed on 10 acres, will have digitally-enabled classrooms, hostels on a par with global academies, a digitised operation centre, and a maintenance unit,” Air India said.

“The FTO will be operational by Q1 FY26 and offer aspiring pilots an opportunity to undergo training with world-class curricula on a par with best-in-class global schools,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India.

The collaborative initiative between MADC and Air India will not only boost the economy of Maharashtra by focussing on more than 3,000 new employment opportunities within the aviation sector, but also create employment in multifarious allied activities in skilling, technical and small entrepreneurial ventures culminating in an impressive contribution of more than ₹1,000 crore to the State’s GDP over the next decade,” said Swati Pandey, vice-chairman & Managing Director of MADC.

New Delhi:

A passenger of an Air India flight alleged some people fainted inside the aircraft, which had no air-conditioning, after a delay of over eight hours.

Shweta Punj, a journalist, in a post on X, said flight No. AI 183 was later by over eight hours, and “people were made to board the plane and sit without air-conditioning” at Delhi airport.

She said the passengers were then told to exit the aircraft after some of them fainted.

Delhi is experiencing a severe heatwave, with the temperature reaching a record 52.9 degree Celsius on Wednesday.

“If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is Air India. DGCA [aviation regulator] AI 183 flight has been delayed for over eight hours, passengers were made to board the plane without air-conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman,” Ms Punj said in the post on X, tagging Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia@DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours , passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight.This is inhuman! @JM_Scindiapic.twitter.com/86KpaOAbgb

— Shweta Punj (@shwwetapunj) May 30, 2024

The Air India X handle responded to her: “Dear Ms. Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please be rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciate your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers.”

Another passenger, Abhishek Sharma, appealed to the airline for swift action and drew its attention to let his parents and “numerous other parents stranded at the boarding area [to] go home”.

@airindia please let mine and the numerous other parents stranded at the boarding area go home!

AI 183 is over 8 hrs late. People were made to board the plane and sit without ac. Then deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done#inhumanpic.twitter.com/0XdDBAovBK

— Abhishek Sharma (@39Abhishek) May 30, 2024

“AI 183 is over eight hours late. People were made to board the plane and sit without AC. Then deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done,” Mr Sharma said in a post on X.

The Air India X bot handle replied to Mr Sharma with the same message that it responded to Ms Punj.

Visuals posted by many other passengers show people including children sitting on the floor, and some have taken off their shoes. They appear exhausted.

In January, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued guidelines to handle chaotic situations after a huge rush was seen due to fog at Delhi airport. The DGCA in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for “facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights”, said that airlines may cancel flights that are likely to be delayed or “consequentially delayed” beyond three hours. The DGCA had said all airlines must follow the SOP immediately.

“I have leapt off a cliff. I can either grow wings or crash.” This is how a young trainee pilot describes his predicament after spending five years and ₹1.07 crore on learning how to fly, along with a steep employment bond of ₹50 lakh which locks him in for five years with the country’s biggest airline, IndiGo.

In his early 20s, Aravinth Nair* has already witnessed the cyclical and volatile nature of the aviation industry in his fledgling career. First, there was the closure of Jet Airways in 2019 just when he was preparing to embark on his flight training programme after finishing high school. That was followed by COVID-19 the next year when his training was temporarily suspended, even as the spectre of mounting interest on the loan incurred to pay his flying school fee loomed large. Then came the Go First closure in May 2023 that flooded the market with jobless but experienced pilots and delayed his induction at the airline, resulting in an extended wait before he could start repaying his loan. These are just some of the stressors that, unknown to most, hide behind the sheen of a “fat” pay cheque.

Costly training, illegal bonds

Add to this, the unpredictable training timelines that can stretch for up to four years before one can even land an airline job, and the loans incurred to pay exorbitant flight training fees ranging between ₹80 lakh and ₹1.2 crore that can take 10 to 14 years to repay. Pilots also find themselves tethered by “illegal” employment bonds of ₹20 lakh for Vistara or ₹50 lakh for IndiGo in the form of undated cheques, locking them in with the company for a period of two to five years at a fixed salary lower than prevalent market standards. Air India too requires new joinees to furnish a bank guarantee of ₹25 lakh for five years, for which pilots often pledge their fixed deposits or incur loans. These bonds or bank guarantees are in addition to costs borne by pilots for induction training of six to nine months at airlines; at Air India, this costs ₹14 lakh, while Vistara charges ₹12 lakh.

There is also the bureaucratic red tape that can mean three months to clear medical assessments and at least a two-month wait just to be issued a licence by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Such factors have a cascading impact on a pilot’s career as these delays could cause other permits to lapse even before one has secured a job.

‘Caught in a chokehold’

The multiple challenges involved in becoming a pilot in India today is also at the heart of the current unrest at Vistara. The airline’s junior pilots have strongly objected to a revised salary structure announced in mid-February which offers them a guaranteed flying allowance for 40 hours instead of the current 70 hours, resulting in a pay cut of 24% to 40% on a salary of ₹3.4 lakh per month. However, many find themselves, as one Vistara First Officer described, “caught in a chokehold” and unable to leave.

“Nothing went off as I had expected. Because there is unpredictability over jobs, I opted for IndiGo’s cadet training programme that cost me ₹1.07 crore five years ago but guaranteed a job at the airline. I paid a premium for a well-known brand and a complete end-to-end package that I hoped would also take care of complex and lengthy regulatory requirements,” recounts Mr. Nair, who is now a First Officer at IndiGo. But that’s not what happened, and the training itself took four years to complete instead of two.

‘Do-or-die situation’

Once he finished his training and joined IndiGo, the induction training for freshers like him was also delayed by four to five months as the airline hired 200 trained pilots from Go First after the latter shut operations.

The delay in induction meant that Mr. Nair would only receive 40% of his salary of ₹2.2 lakh, or ₹90,000 per month, until he was released to fly for the airline, resulting in a longer wait to be able to repay his loan.

“The financial burden is so huge that it is a do-or-die situation for me. I am in a position where I am forced to succeed,” says Mr. Nair.

Several First Officers at Vistara told The Hindu that while the new salary terms were not acceptable, they had no choice but to agree to them because of an ultimatum from the airline’s human resources department that not doing so would result in their ouster from the merged Air India and impact their upgrades.

‘Illegal pay cut’

“The new pay structure announced at Vistara entailing a pay cut for First Officers is illegal because it is a fundamental principle in labour laws that contractual terms can’t be altered to the detriment of an employee after he or she has joined the company. The conditions can be made more favourable though,” said aviation lawyer Yeshwanth Shenoy.

The Hindu sent specific queries to Air India, Vistara and IndiGo but all of them declined to comment.

“We are caught in a chokehold because aviation is a blackhole of money,” said a Vistara First Officer who has decided to stay at the airline as he is expecting an upgrade to Senior First Officer, which will mean a salary bump of nearly ₹1 lakh.

“Firstly, there aren’t many airlines left in the country and IndiGo is the only viable alternative. At some airlines like Air India, even appearing for a job interview requires spending upto ₹1 lakh for a simulator examination. And many First Officers can’t even go overseas as foreign airlines need an Airline Transport Pilot Licence which requires 2,000 hours of flying, which pilots don’t have so early in their career,” he explained.

Junior pilots ‘exploited’

Pilots across the industry are enraged over how Vistara’s new pay structure deliberately “exploits” junior pilots who are unable to reject the new contract because of their vulnerable position. The senior pilots, on the other hand, have received favourable terms where they will earn a sum equivalent of 70 hours of flying under the old regime by flying only 50 hours to 60 hours under the new pay regime.

Quitting an airline in India is also not easy. First Officers have to serve a notice period of six months, whereas foreign airlines like Etihad will only wait for three months for a pilot to join. Then there are employment bonds that tie up pilots for up to five years, and are “illegal”, according to Mr. Shenoy.

“These bonds violate Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 which lays down that any agreement by which any one is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade or business of any kind is void. As these are civil matters or disputes between a private person and an enterprise only an aggrieved pilot can file a legal case but which pilot will challenge his airline and bell the cat,“ he asks.

Training fees

Even the cost incurred by pilots for their induction training at an airline is unlawful, explains Mr. Shenoy. “Any expenditure incurred on training that is necessary to fulfil the obligations of employment have to be borne by the employer. Pilots can’t be made to pay for this,” he said. Pilots also wonder why they have to pay millions for airline training, given that this is carried out on passenger flights that already earn revenue for airlines. Airline sources said on the condition of anonymity that the fee for induction training is levied because of the cost to the company of removing a pilot from flying duties to conduct simulator training as well as to pay for using simulators.

Sometimes, a dream turns into a bird with a broken wing that can’t fly. After 10 years of training, Saurabh Saxena* lost the ₹40 lakh he paid as an airline training fee to Go First when it collapsed last May. With his family having spent ₹1 crore in all, there was no more financial appetite to nurture the dream and he had to join the family business. “I am getting married on April 23 and I know that I am not an alluring prospective husband,” he said.

Watch | The troubles behind Vistara’s massive flight cancellations I Explained

Starting March 30, Vistara began to see scores of flight cancellations flooding social media with passenger complaints. Over the next four or five days, the airline saw over 150 flights cancelled and more than 200 flights delayed for more than two hours.

The airline attributed the cancellations to crew unavailability. But in order to cope with the situation and to avoid any further inconvenience to passengers the airline decided to drop a total of 1,000 flights in the month of April, or roughly 30 flights a day. This is about 10% of the airline’s total number of daily flights.

Why were there so many cancellations? Why was there deep unrest among pilots?

Read:  Why are Vistara flights being cancelled? | Explained 

Script and presentation: Jagriti Chandra

Video: Dipesh

Production: Shikha Kumari

These rules, which provide enhanced rest to pilots who have complained of mounting levels of fatigue, were earlier set to be implemented on June 1. Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

The aviation safety regulator, DGCA, has asked airlines to inform when they will be willing to implement the new duty and rest norms for pilots which were delayed at their behest. 

“You may kindly indicate the timeline required to prepare a roadmap for implementation of the revised FDTL norms and the timeline for subsequent implementation of the same,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation wrote in a notice to airlines on April 10.

Also read: Why is the DGCA firm on new rest rules for pilots? | Explained

The regulator has sought this information after the Delhi High Court gave the DGCA until May 8 to indicate the tentative date for implementation of the new norms.

These rules, which provide enhanced rest to pilots who have complained of mounting levels of fatigue, were earlier set to be implemented on June 1. But after intense pressure from airlines, the regulator in March quietly inserted a revised clause in the rules that effectively delayed their implementation indefinitely. Airlines had sought their postponement on the grounds that implementing them would increase their requirement for pilots, in the absence of which they would have to cancel 15% to 20% of flights.

The rules were announced on January 8 and increased the weekly rest period for pilots from 36 hours to 48 hours as well as curtailed night flying which pilots blame cause immense fatigue.

New Delhi:

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its recent report stated that flight problems, baggage and refunds were the major issues out of the 246 passenger complaints received by the scheduled domestic airlines in September.

“During September 2023, a total of 246 passenger-related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of September 2023 has been around 0.20,” the air traffic report released by DGCA read.

According to the report, the major reasons for complaints are flight problems (41.9 per cent) baggage (19.9 per cent) and refund (15.4 per cent) adding that the major reasons for complaints are flight problem-related.

The report further mentioned that 242 complaints out of 246 complaints have been addressed.

Further, according to the report released by the aviation regulator, DGCA also received complaints regarding Customer service (10.2 per cent), and staff behaviour (4.9 per cent) but only 0.4 per cent of complaints are related to fares.

“There is a significant increase in complaints related to staff behaviour and customer service as compared to the previous month August. In August, there were 5.9 per cent of complaints related to customer service that have gone up to 10.2. Similarly, complaints related to staff behaviour that was 2.4 per cent in August have come up to 4.9 per cent,” the report read.

In September, a total of 663 passengers were denied boarding and airlines spent Rs 71.52 lakhs on compensation and facilities. Similarly, 40,940 passengers were affected due to cancellations of flights and airlines spent Rs 128.70 lakhs on compensation and facilities. A total of 123063 passengers were affected due to delays and airlines spent Rs 149.46 lakhs towards facilitation.

The report states further that the maximum number of complaints were received by Indigo (61) followed by Spice Jet (55) and Air India (54).

Ministry of Consumer Affairs on Thursday expressed concerns about alleged unfair trade practices involving airlines and online travel aggregators. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh mentioned that the National Consumer Helpline has received about 10,000 complaints related to the airline sector in the last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court Wednesday agreed with the contention of Akasa Air that the DGCA is not completely barred from taking action against pilots who violate the terms of their employment agreements.

However, the court did not grant any immediate relief to Akasa Air which sought direction to the DGCA and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against its pilots who have resigned without serving the notice period, saying it will first decide the issue of jurisdiction raised by the aviation sector regulator.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said since the Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA) has contended it has no jurisdiction to consider a representation made by the airline against the defaulting pilots under the extant law as it was a contractual dispute, the court will have to first decide the issue of jurisdiction before passing any other direction.

“There is no absolute restraint against the respondent from taking action as contended by respondent no. 1 (DGCA) and 2 (Ministry of Civil Aviation). To this extent, the court is in agreement with the submissions of the petitioner (airline)…”, the court said.

The high court made it clear that during the pendency of Akasa Air’s plea, in case a pilot acts in breach of the minimum contractual notice period, as specified in his or her employment agreement, then such an action will be at the pilot’s own risk and remain subject to the outcome of this petition.

The high court passed the interim order on Akasa’s plea seeking direction to the DGCA and the ministry to take appropriate steps (including by way of issuing necessary notices/ directives) to prevent any further violation of the Civil Aviation Requirement and other rules during the pendency of its petition.

Meanwhile, the court impleaded the Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots as party respondents to the petition.

The court asked aviation sector regulator DGCA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots to file their replies to the main petition.

Fledging Akasa Air has filed the plea which said it is in a state of crisis following the sudden and abrupt resignation of 43 pilots, who left the airline without serving the mandatory notice period.

The airline and its CEO Vinay Dube approached the high court with their petition on September 14, seeking a direction to the DGCA to take coercive action against these pilots for their “irresponsible actions”.

While pronouncing the order, the court noted the petitioners, at the outset, have stated they are not seeking any action against the 43 pilots who have already resigned and only want clarification of certain previous interim orders.

Akasa Air also sought an interim direction to DGCA to take appropriate action as per extant law for possible future infractions by the existing pilots of the airline.

The DGCA, in its response, told the court it cannot interfere in the employment agreement between pilots and Akasa Air.

It said it would be in the interest of the parties that Akasa Air complies with the mandate of the aviation regulator to maintain a limited schedule if it does not have the necessary number of pilots to maintain flight operations.

As per the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 2017, while first officers (co-pilot) have to mandatorily serve a notice period of six months, the requirement for captains (pilot in command) is one year.

The DGCA, in its written submissions said, “The DGCA cannot interfere in the employment agreement between airline and the pilot which itself contains the mechanism of termination of pilots… “. It urged the court to dismiss the airline’s petition with costs.

Regarding the airline’s claim of cancellation of about 600 flights since June owing to the resignations, the regulator categorically denied the company provided it any documents or reasons for the same.

It added that as per the details submitted by Akasa Air, 1.17 per cent of its flights were cancelled in August, 2023.

The regulator said in case of major cancellations due to any reason, which is inclusive of pilot resignations, the regulator ensures the passengers are minimally inconvenienced and that appropriate protection is provided to them in the event of flight disruptions.

The Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots in their written submissions opposed the airline’s petition, saying it was indulging in the practice of forum shopping by engaging in multiple litigations as it has already filed a civil suit against the pilots in the Bombay High Court.

The Federation of Indian Pilots said the airline has failed to demonstrate that the alleged cancellation of 600 flights in August was solely attributable to resignation by pilots and added that it be treated as unsubstantiated, bald averment.

The airline, which operated its first commercial flight between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on August 7, 2022, has hit turbulence following the resignation by its pilots.

SNV Aviation Private Limited, which flies under the brand name Akasa Air, has sought a direction to the DGCA to take coercive action against pilots who failed to comply with the mandatory notice period requirements in terms of the CAR 2017.

The airline, in its plea, said it has not been able to secure any efficacious remedy to protect itself and the public from “reckless and irresponsible” actions of certain pilots and added it was deeply aggrieved by the “callous” conduct of the pilots whose actions are blatantly in the teeth of the 2017 CAR and the contractual arrangements with the company.

It said with every such “illegal” resignation, that is conveniently carried out by the pilots without consequence, other pilots are encouraged to follow the same course of action which is clear from the ever-increasing number of pilots who have resigned since the first resignation in June 2023.

The plea said the airline officials met DGCA representatives several times to explain their difficulties but failed to receive any response or assurance from the authorities after which it gave a representation to the Minister of Civil Aviation but no action appears to have been taken. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended the approval of Air India’s Flight Safety Chief for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical man power as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended Tata Group-owned Air India’s Flight Safety Chief Rajeev Gupta for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical manpower as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

Mr. Rajeev Gupta is the Chief of Flight Safety Air India Ltd.

In the past also, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had cracked the whip against the full-service private carrier for various alleged violations and lapses. Last month, the regulator suspended for 10 days the ATO approval to Air India’s training facilities in Mumbai and Hyderabad for certain lapses in simulator training.

“Further it was observed that some of the internal audit/spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements,” the DGCA said in its statement on September 21.

The DGCA said, after reviewing the action taken report submitted by the airline, it issued show-cause notices to the concerned post holders.

“Based on the review of the replies received, the airline has been directed not to assign any audits/surveillance/spot checks pertaining to compliance of DGCA requirements to the particular auditor involved in the perfunctory inspections which indicates lack of diligence,” it said.

In February this year, the regulator had ordered the removal of Air India subsidiary AIX Connect (earlier AirAsia India) head of training, from his position for a period of three months, violating certain norms relating to the pilots training.

Besides, it had imposed a penalty of ₹20 lakh on the airline, as well as a fine of ₹3 lakh each on eight designated examiners..

Mumbai:

Aviation safety regulator DGCA has temporarily suspended the Boeing simulator training facility of Air India for certain alleged lapses, a source has said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “verifying” some of the documents pertaining to the matter and will take a call on the restoration of the training facility once it completes the process, the source said.

When contacted, a senior Air India official said DGCA carries out routine checks (on airlines) but did not divulge details.

“DGCA has temporarily suspended Air India’s Boeing simulator training facility for certain lapses. The regulator is verifying some documents related to the matter,” the source said.

The regulatory action against the Tata Group-owned Air India came days after a two-member DGCA inspection team allegedly found lapses in the airline’s internal safety audit reporting, prompting it to launch a probe in the matter.

A decision on the restoration of the training at the facility will be taken once the documents’ “verification” process is completed, the source said.

Air India wide-body fleet comprises Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The carrier is also likely to induct Airbus wide-body A350 planes in its fleet from this year end.

According to the inspection report submitted to DGCA, first reported by PTI last week, the airline was supposed to carry out regular safety spot checks in various areas of operations such as cabin surveillance, cargo, ramp and load but during a random inspection of 13 safety points, the team found that the airline prepared false reports in all 13 cases.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)