Close on the heels of a recently-resolved Jet crisis, almost one-third of the pilots of the cash-strapped Air India (AI) threatened an indefinite strike, by reporting mass sick leave, in response to the management's Wednesday decision of a reduction in their salaries.

These 400 non-unionised pilots of the management cadre would likely be supported by their 800 unionised counterparts in the strike, which will affect AI flights. However, since the salary-cut is not an all-encompassing one, the pilots have still not arrived at a consensus about the strike call.

However, even if the strike materializes, it would not have as huge an effect as the Jet strike, though passengers who intend flying the carrier in the coming days would have to face unwarranted botheration.

Elaborating the reason behind the proposed strike call, senior executive pilot V K Bhalla said: "Our chairman Arvind Jadhav has issued a Talibani diktat of cutting our salaries by up to a whopping 70% without any negotiations with us."

Bhalla also added that since the aggrieved pilots will be in "no mental state to fly," the safety of the passengers would be at stake.

According to the executive pilots, the salary reduction will imply a monthly salary drop in their salaries from nearly Rs 4 lakh to around Rs 1.25 to 1.50 lakh, as against the Rs 2 lakh monthly salaries of the unionised co-pilots.