Air India Pilots Warn They Will Stop Flying If Not Vaccinated for COVID-19 Urgently
Air India pilots on Tuesday wrote to the airline saying it should ensure vaccination for all flying crew above the age of 18 on priority, otherwise "WE WILL STOP WORK".
New Delhi, May 4: Air India pilots on Tuesday wrote to the airline saying it should ensure vaccination for all flying crew above the age of 18 on priority, otherwise "WE WILL STOP WORK". In its letter, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), union of Air India pilots, told the airline that its members and their family members are "are struggling to get oxygen cylinders", adding pilots can no more risk their lives without vaccination. Air India Pilots Seek Restoration of Pre-COVID Pay; Says Harshest Hit in Domestic Market.
"With no health care support to the flying crew, no insurance, and a massive opportunistic pay cut, we are in no position to continue risking the lives of our pilots without vaccination. Our finances are already spread thin covering our bedridden colleagues and provisioning for families lest we inadvertently infect them with the deadly virus that is an ever-present occupational hazard for us," the ICPA wrote. Air India Airlifting Oxygen Concentrators from Several Countries: Puri.
"If Air India fails to set up vaccination camps on a Pan India basis for the flying crew above the age of 18 years on priority, we will 'STOP WORK'," the pilots warned. They also accused the management of doing lip service and issuing circulars and letter with no outcome. A large of Air India crew have contracted coronavirus in last one year. Some of them also succumbed to the infection. "We are left to fend for ourselves for hospitalisation," the pilots said.
Raising objection to reduction in pilots' salaries, the ICPA said: "We have gone above and beyond during this pandemic, risking life and limb to ensure our citizens' well-being. Due to our unwavering support, VBM and relief operations continue to run smoothly even in the face of a resurgence of even deadlier strains of COVID-19. All we got in return for our dedication and sacrifice is a massive discriminatory pay cut."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 04, 2021 03:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).