Govt may step in to resolve Sahara stir

The government is likely to step in to resolve the crisis arising out of the mass leave by Air Sahara's pilots. About 15 flights of the private carrier were cancelled today "" affecting over 2,500 passengers "" as about 20 of its pilots stayed away from work sighting health reasons.

"Air services in the country is suffering as a result of the strike. We urge the management to resolve the issue," said a senior civil aviation ministry official.

This move by the government comes as flights of Air Sahara has been affected as a result of the strike by pilots, demanding salaries and perks equal to that of the pilots of Jet Airways, which recently acquired Air Sahara for $500 million.

Airlines sources added that the Air Sahara management was still holding talks with the protesting pilots. Today's situation was, however, better than yesterday's, when about 30 pilots had stayed off work and the airline had to cancel about 35 of its flights.

Sources also said Air Sahara's pilots had pointed out to the management that their seniority should be kept in mind while employee integration took place.

Pilots also wants that they should be allowed to fly on routes they originally operated. "Air Sahara pilots want to operate on the same routes they operate now even after the deal. The pilots have told the management that they should not be demoted or asked to handle the secondary routes," said an airline source.

As a contingency measure, the airline combined some flights today and pressed into service the executive pilots, who are on managerial positions, to minimise cancellations.

The airline had stopped its booking of passengers in its flights from Mumbai and Kolkata for the next two days, the sources said.

Asked whether legal action would be taken against the pilots, Air Sahara executive vice-president Alok Sharma said, "There was no need as they were on sick leave. But if their is any malafide, we will take necessary action."

The airline is monitoring the situation closely and has already taken some preventive action to ensure that flight operations function smoothly.

Air Sahara has a fleet of 27 aircraft that includes Boeing 737 and the CRJ aircraft. The airline operates 134 flights offering almost 14,000 seats a day to 24 domestic and four international destinations.

The deal, however, still has to be approved by the authorities. At the time of the acquisition, Jet Airways has said that it wanted to retain the services of pilots, engineers, and technical staff of Air Sahara.