IndiGo finds itself facing yet another coup within days of being hit by massive flight delays due to non-availability of pilots and cabin crew who went on leave en masse. The budget carrier was able to somewhat manage the crisis with a quick announcement of an 8% hike in pilots’ salaries, which continue to be lower than 2020 levels when wages were cut as much as 28% due to the pandemic.
Now, aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) at some stations including Hyderabad and Delhi have taken mass leaves, protesting poor increments, according to a Times of India report.
On July 8, some technicians did not report for the night shift at Hyderabad station. The airline is monitoring the situation and took steps to deal with the crisis. There have been no delays or flight disruptions due to the situation, the report added quoting unnamed sources.
The airline is yet to restore salaries to pre-Covid levels, leading employees to take some extreme measures. It was reported that on July 2, as many as 55% of the airline’s flights were delayed or cancelled as a large number of cabin crew personnel went to participate in walk-in interviews conducted by Tata Group’s Air India.
The airline is in the middle of a transition at the highest level with chief executive Ronojoy Dutta and chief commercial officer Willy Boulter announcing exits. Pieter Elbers, KLM Royal Dutch president will take over as IndiGo CEO to oversee the airline’s expansion in the international market.
The second salary hike since April 1 will be applicable from August 1.Along with the salary hike, the airline will also restore overtime allowance for pilots to pre-Covid levels.
Despite the recent 8% increase, pilots’ renumeration is still 16 per cent lower than their pre-Covid level salaries. Moreover, the budget carrier is also reinstating a work pattern for pilots so as to boost aircraft utilisation. This pattern would ensure that pilots earn more, however, there will be fewer leaves. For this month, IndiGo has budgeted for an average of 1,550 flights daily, and it utilises its aircraft for around 13 hours.