Akasa flying less after some pilots quit abruptly: CEO Vinay Dube

Indian budget carrier Akasa Air is flying less and will give up market share in the short term to ensure it runs a reliable operation after some pilots quit the airline, CEO Vinay Dube told employees in an email late on Tuesday.

"When a small set of pilots abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period, it forced a disruption of flights between July and September, necessitating last minute cancellations," Dube said in the email reviewed by Reuters.

Akasa's market share slipped to 4.2% in August from 5.2% a month earlier, according to latest available data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator.

The company has initiated legal action against the pilots that have quit without serving their mandatory contractual notice period, Dube said.

Akasa has also received the DGCA's nod to fly to international destinations and will begin those operations before the end of the year, Dube wrote in the email.

Akasa did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment.

Shares of rival IndiGo, India's largest airline, reversed course to trade 0.5% higher after the report on Akasa.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Varun Vyas, Editing by Louise Heavens and Christian Schmollinger)