Not waiting for striking pilots to return: Govt

June 18, 2012

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Hyderabad, June 18: Virtually sounding a warning to the striking Air India pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said the government is not waiting for the pilots to return to work but making plans to move ahead.

Reminding the pilots and other employees that their survival was linked to Air India, he said that nobody is going to give anymore public money to the airline and "they will not survive for too long" if the company does not become competitive.

"We are not waiting. We are making plans. If you take the pilots trained in V-737 or Airbus 320, (in) three to six months they can be trained to fly these planes. "So, in our plan for revival, when we implement Dharmadhikari report, we have to be very patient and firm at the same time.

"There will be many such hiccups on the way," he told reporters here on the sidelines of a book release function. Contending that there are "no issues" to go on strike and the pilots were "ill", he said plans were afoot to induct and train more pilots.

He, however, said the government is ready to listen to the concerns of pilots once they return to work and address them seriously without being vindictive in any way.

"I don't understand why they are on strike to begin with. There are no issues. Whatever few issues they had, that’s what exactly Dharmadhikari report was meant to address.

"We have already started discussions. Secondly, they did not even give any notice. So, it is not strike. "They are just not well. They are ill. So, they are basically keeping away from work," he said.

The minister said the High Court had directed the pilots to go back to firm. "It is illegal strike. I said even in Parliament that let them come back to work, we will listen to all their problems. Government will not be vindictive in any way. So, it seems to me that they do not want to come back to work," he said.

Around 400 Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild(IPG) are on strike since May 7 and the services of 101 pilots have already been terminated. MORE PTI Singh said the pilots and other employees need to understand that their survival depends on Air India's survival and pointed to demands that the airline should be shut down.

"We are already flying about 38 of the 45 destinations that we were flying earlier. Of course, they are making a business plan to induct more pilots or train more pilots," he said.

The minister said while Rs 30,000 crore have been allocated to make Air India viable, "it is not at one time. It is based on attaining certain performance standards. There are many milestones on the way. Government or anybody, nobody is going to give anymore public money to Air India."

"They have to become competitive with the rest of the industry. Otherwise, they will not survive for too long," he said. "Their survival depends on Air India's survival. They have no money to pay the wages. They have not paid the airport authorities. They don’t pay the oil companies. As I said, many people in the government, more civil aviation experts and many people in the media want Air India to be sold off or shut down.

"Pilots or employees have to understand that. It is in their interest to revive Air India. That should be their first loyalty," he said.

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October 21,2024

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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

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