Air India Boeing fleet pilots' body IPG has complained that "sub-standard" protective equipment were provided on recent rescue flights in the wake of global coronavirus pandemic, and urged the management to look into the issue.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, the flag carrier has operated a series of rescue flights to bring back Indians stranded in various countries, including China (Wuhan), Italy (Milan and Rome) and Japan.
On Thursday, the airline operated a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, to transport 300 Israelis from India.
"During our recent rescue flights, the protective equipment being provided to the flight crew have been failing with an alarming frequency or have been plagued with other issues. For example, shoe covers have failed in as little as 10 minutes, gloves in three hours, hand sanitisers on board have not been provided in sufficient quantity,'' the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) alleged in a letter to airline chief Rajiv Bansal on Saturday.
It may be mentioned here that Air India, in a statement on March 22, said, "Air India has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of its crew and protect their well being for each and every flight they have undertaken to fly to cities affected with covid-19 with all essential and non-essential measures to arrest the spread of Coronavirus amogst crew and passengers.
"The hazmat suits (the decontamination suits) have been ill-fitting and available only in limited quantity increasing the risk of rupture," they alleged.
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"Even if there is an iota of doubt, we will certainly look into the issue in right earnest as, in Air India, we have never ever made any compromise with the safety of our passenger or crew," Air India spokesperson said.
The entire nation is in a lockdown to prevent further spread of this virus, social distancing and containment measures have been implemented across the board, the IPG said.
"If the flight crew at the forefront of this fight are being given substandard equipment, this is a criminal neglect of duty by the concerned staff/department," the pilots body stated.
IPG also said it has repeatedly been emphasising that the risk of contagion is "very high" for flight crew because of the nature of duty.
"Even at the peak of this crisis if corners are being cut when it comes to protecting rescue personnel adequately, the entire purpose of the government's initiative is lost and the repercussions will be felt widely not just in the airline industry but the country as a whole," the guild alleged.
"We therefore request you to immediately look into the matter and ensure that our flight crew get the best equipment available to perform these important duties,' it said, adding action must be taken if any individual/group is found to be for responsible for "willful dereliction" of duty or "profiteering," in the matter.