Jet Airways Crisis: 1,100 Pilots Decide Not to Fly From April 15 Over Non-Payment of Dues

New Delhi, April 14: Around 1,100 pilots belonging to debt-ridden Jet Airways' pilots body National Aviator's Guild (NAG) have decided to not fly from 10 am on April 15, Monday, in a protest against non-payment of dues, said PTI sources. The staff of carrier including pilots, engineers and senior management haven't received salaries from January. The financially-unstable carrier has also not paid salaries to other staff in March.

"As on today, we have not been paid for nearly three-and-a-half months and we don't know when we will be paid. So we have decided to go ahead with our call of no-flying from April 15. All 1,100 pilots of NAG will stop flying from 10 am Monday," said a Guild source. Jet Airways Aircraft Seized in Amsterdam For Non-Payment of Dues, Passengers Stuck.

The NAG in March had called for no flying from April 1, 2019, over non-payment of salaries. On March 31, however, it deferred the agitation to April 15, saying that it wanted to give more time to new management. Jet Airways Stops Forward Booking for East-Bound International Sector.

According to reports, low-cost carrier Spicejet is making most of the crisis at Jet Airways. Spicejet is hiring pilots and engineers at much lower pays then their current salaries at the debt-ridden Jet. Pilots from Jet Airways are being employed at Spicejet with 25-30 per cent salary cuts, while engineers have to settle at 50 per cent of their pay package.

"The prospect of closure is certainly one of the reasons for professionals agreeing to take salary cuts. But average salaries at Jet Airways have also been higher than the industry level," a top aviation source said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 14, 2019 04:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).