New Delhi/Mumbai, May 30: Striking Air India pilots today suffered another blow with the Delhi High Court holding that the protesters' view on the issue of training on Boeing 777 to be used in international flights will be heard only after they call off their over three-week agitation.
“Let them call off the strike, we will then hear the matter,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw on an appeal by Air India against a stay order on the training of more pilots on Boeing 777.
A single judge of the Delhi High Court had on May 11 stayed training of more pilots till the implementation of Justice Dharmadhikari panel recommendations on the issue. The high court, however, refused to disturb the ongoing training of the Air India pilots.
The Indian Pilots Guild, which is spearheading the strike by over 200 pilots over issues relating to career progression, said,”as per today's order of the High Court, the management of Air India has been restrained from training pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines on the B-777.”
With no signs of a resolution, the strike by the pilots spilled over to the 24th day with the airline operating a truncated international flight schedule.
Today's High Court order came after Air India's counsel Lalit Bhasin submitted that the single judge was wrong in staying the training being imparted to the pilots for B-777. He also submitted that staying the training will cause huge financial loss.
Air India, in a separate statement, said that the High Court has directed IPG pilots to resume duties and restore normalcy before any matter pertaining to the IPG can be taken up.
