Pilots can't fly away at short notice

Licence may be confiscated on flouting 6-month-notice norm set by DGCA.

A pilot leaving an airline will have to serve a mandatory six-month notice period, according to guidelines issued today by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The guidelines will be part of civil aviation rules. Pilots stand to lose their licences if they violate the rules.

The notice period , however, may be reduced if employers provide no-objection certificates and agree to relieve exiting pilots sooner.

The directive comes in the wake of large-scale movement of pilots among airlines. The operations of state-run Alliance Air suffered recently when 20 trained pilots left to join private carriers. As a result, Alliance had to cancel some of its scheduled services.

"It has been observed that pilots are resigning without giving any notice to airlines. In some cases, even groups of pilots resign together without notice and as a result, airlines are forced to cancel their flights at the last minute. Sometimes, such abrupt actions by pilots come in the form of a concerted move, which is tantamount to holding an airline to ransom and leaving travellers stranded. This is a highly undesirable practice and goes against public interest," said the DGCA guidelines.

In the last six months, an estimated 150 pilots have changed companies.

Private airlines, however, have reacted to this move with caution. Some pointed out that it was restrictive.

"We think this move will help the existing airlines. But new carriers, which have to depend on the existing pool of pilots to start operations, will face severe constraints. The government should try to increase the pool of available professionals," said an executive with a private carrier.

Airlines also said they will now have to look at options like paying transfer fees to rival airlines when pilots are "poached".

According to the DGCA guidelines, pilots are not expected to refuse to undertake flight duties assigned to them during the notice period.

According to airlines, it takes about four months to train a pilot, including the technical and performance examinations. In addition, training of a pilot involves substantial cost.

"In view of this, the government has decided that any act on the part of pilots, including resignation from airlines without a minimum notice period of six months, which may result in last-minute cancellation of flights and harassment of passengers, would be treated as an act against public interest," the aviation regulator has pointed out.

In April this year, all Indian carriers had agreed on a cap on pilot salaries and perks to prevent rampant poaching "� a move that failed.

THE CRUNCH

• Pilots with Indian carriers: 1,500
• Projected demand in 2-3 years: 2,000
• Annual capacity of training institutes: 100
• Number of pilots "poached" in last six months: 150
• Average rise in pilot salaries in last six months: 40%

Source: Industry estimates