2-month notice period for airline staff

Poaching engineers in the domestic airline industry will no more be easy. Engineers leaving an airline will now have to serve a two-month notice period and secure a no objection certificate from the current employer.

Top representatives of domestic airlines have signed a preliminary agreement for a two-month notice period for engineers and technical staff.

According to sources, a meeting of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on Tuesday took a final decision in this regard, and will communicate it to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"The notice serving period for engineers will be two months initially and later be increased to six months as in the case of pilots," they said.

The DGCA had earlier brought in a regulation whereby a pilot has to give a mandatory six-month notice to his employer before resigning.

Confirming the development, an airline executive said: "We have reached an understanding that engineers resigning from a particular airline should initially serve a notice period of two months. Even the DGCA was deliberating on the issue of including a mandatory notice period condition for engineering jobs."

Industry sources said there was an acute shortage of qualified engineers in the airline industry.

"Going ahead, airlines will face severe shortage of experienced engineers, as all are expanding fleets," they said.

The representatives of airlines said poaching was a widespread phenomenon in the aviation industry. "Poaching still exists and it affects operations. Due to poaching, the salaries of engineers, on an average, have gone up by 20 per cent," an airline executive said.

"The role of pilots and engineers in an airline is critical. Engineers are required for certifying an aircraft after certain flying hours," he said.

"A two-month breathing period will enable an airline to find a replacement. It is expected the DGCA will also come out with similar regulations to check the rise in poaching among airlines," said an analyst.

Airlines are also planning to work out a scheme wherein they can pool their engineering resources.

"The committee on human resources will shortly come up with recommendations to set up a common scheme to pool engineering resources. The details of such a pooling scheme is yet to be worked out," said another airline executive.

Meanwhile, airlines are considering another round of fuel surcharge, of Rs 150, to cover up losses made by them due to the increase in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) surcharge.

"Public sector oil companies are not transferring the reduction in oil prices to airlines. Despite the fall in oil prices, oil companies increased jet fuel prices by 4 per cent. We are waiting for the next price revision. We will take a final decision in two weeks time," an executive of private airline added.