Still no salaries for senior pilots at Kingfisher

Diwali’s come and gone, and in a couple of days the world will ring in the New Year, but there seems to be no end to the woes of the senior pilots at Kingfisher Airlines, who are yet to get the May salary they were promised before November 13.

The airline has been grounded since October 1, after its engineers and pilots went on strike demanding salaries. The strike was called off late October after the airline top brass assured the employees that they would receive salaries in staggered schedules before Diwali.

Employees said that salaries have been paid to copilots, and engineering and ground staff, but around 80 senior pilots haven’t received their dues. This comes just two days after Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday that the revival plan submitted by the airline to the aviation regulator was not backed by a clear funding proposal.

Now, the senior pilots have “warned” the management of “serious consequences” if they are not paid immediately. “It’s been three months since the last Kingfisher flight operated. It’s frustrating that the airline hasn’t paid us what they promised in October,” a senior pilot said.

The airline sources said the senior pilots will be paid on December 31, when the Kingfisher boss Vijay Mallya is scheduled to return from Africa. However, there was no official communication from the airline despite repeated attempts.

Asenior pilot said, “How can the airline management claim they have a revival plan in place when they aren’t able to pay us? Obviously the aviation regulator will take that into account.” The revival plan says the airline will restart on a cash-and-carry basis, with a fleet of five Airbus and two ATR turboprop aircraft. This fleet is expected to be scaled up to 11 ATRs and 10 Airbus aircraft within 10 weeks.

According to the sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airline’s CEO said the salaries will be cleared by giving two months’ wages, and back wages each month starting January. DGCA director general Arun Mishra said, “We need more details of funding. The license suspension will be revoked only after the stakeholders are convinced of the plan. We have received letters from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Mumbai International Airport Ltd, requesting us to not let the airline become operational till their dues are cleared.”

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