Jet Airways deadlock continues, flights cancelled

Jet Airways deadlock continues, flights cancelledNew Delhi, Sep 9 : Jet Airways flights were cancelled for a second consecutive day on Wednesday following a row between the airline management and its pilots over the sacking of two of their senior colleagues.

The management has sacked five more pilots, bringing the total number of those fired to ten. However, the striking pilots are seeking a compromise formula, as a meeting will be held between them and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal.

Earlier, Goyal said inconvenienced passengers were being accommodated on other foreign and domestic airlines in the country.

"We are trying our best, we are transferring passengers to a lot of domestic carriers in India, and lot of foreign airlines in India so that we minimise the inconvenience to customers... We are willing to sit with them (pilots) and to follow certain guidelines and rules and not create inconvenience to customers and passengers," Goyal told TIMES NOW.

Jet Airways had also sought the Directorate General of Civil Aviation''s (DGCA) intervention to resolve the crisis. Last month, Jet Airways had terminated the services of two of its senior most pilots, saying their services were not required after both formed a trade union body within the company.

A conciliatory meeting was called on August 31 between the Jet Airways management and the union, which claims to have representation of over 650 pilots. Jet Airways has 1000 pilots on its rolls.

Meanwhile, Air India has come to the rescue of the Indian cricket team scheduled to go to Colombo today by a Jet Airways flight for the tri-nation one-day series.

Air India will fly a special plane to carry the Indian cricket team to Colombo. The plane will take off from Chennai and go to Bangalore to take Indian captain M S Dhoni and leg spinner Harbhajan Singh before finally leaving for Colombo. (ANI)