Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Sunday said that the Centre was exploring the alternates to resolve the crisis caused to the strike by Air India pilots.
Talking to reporters after attending a book release function at Jubilee Halls, Ajit Singh said that flights have been resumed from 40 to 50 locations and efforts were on to restore the flights from all other destinations. He said the government was also planning to hire the trainee pilots.
Describing the pilots’ strike as illegal, he said the government was keen to resolve the issues raised by the pilots. However, he said the pilots went on strike in violation of trade unions’ norms. “If pilots are not willing to end the strike, the government is not interested in their issues,” he said.
Ajit Singh said that the Air India had recovered its losses by almost 35 per cent before the pilots went strike. However, due to the illegal strike, he said the Air India was again pushed into huge losses.
–Agencies