New Delhi: Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has sacked one of its pilots for allegedly asking an air hostess of the flight to sit with him in the cockpit of the aeroplane.
According to a report in Times of India, the pilot of the both leg of Kolkata-Bangkok flight (Boeing 737) had made the chief air hostess of the flight sit on his seat. He, in fact, had sent his co-pilot out of the cockpit, leaving the two alone in the cockpit for a long time. The incident of alleged sexual harassment at workplace had taken place on February 28 this year.
The case didn’t come to light because the pilot had not used ‘inappropriate language’ with the lady staff. She, however, had complained to the airline about the incident. The airline had immediately ordered an inquiry and informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the breach.
The pilot, it said, called the air hostess inside the cockpit while flying to Bangkok. The pilot repeated his actions on the return journey the same night.
DGCA Chief M Sathiyavathy is now personally looking into the case and if allegations proven, the pilot may lose licence. The decision to sack the pilot, report said, was taken by SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh.
“The inquiry process (in this case) is on and the statement of all the concerned parties has been recorded. Subsequently, the alleged personnel had been sacked,” SpiceJet GM corporate communication, Ajay Jasra told the TOI.
A cockpit is the area from where a pilot controls the aircraft. The enclosed are contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that enable the pilot to fly the aircraft. In most airliners, a door separates the cockpit from the aircraft cabin.
Pilots inside the cockpit have full authority to deny access of the area to the flight crew. However, cabin crew keep visiting the cockpit to see if the pilots need something.
