KOLKATA, Feb 17 (UNI): ATR-42 flights of the Alliance Air (AA) to the Northeast remained suspended for the third day today following en masse leave by pilots, even as the airlines management terminated theservices of captain Sanjoy Gupta late last evening for "resorting tostrike and instigating others to agitate." The AA management, however, has kept "their doors" open for negotiation with the striking pilots.
Speaking to UNI, Regional Director of Alliance Air Sekhar Ghosh said Captain Gupta's termination order issues late last evening mentioned the reasons for the management's action.
"The pilots have gone on a mass sick leave without any notice.
Gupta had not only taken part in the agitation but also instigated others to do so," Ghosh said.
He said when the pilots went on the leave on Tuesday, 17 out of 20 of them came to the office of the Executive Director (operations) of the airlines here for holding negotiations.
They were supposed to return late in the afternoon to further hold talks with the management but nobody turned up.
The Regional Director said the ATR 42 pilots are on a three-year fixed term contract.
"But keeping in view some of their aspirations the management had agreed to review some of their service condition.
Last month, pilots representatives had also gone to Delhi and met the Alliance Air Managing Director who assured them of looking into their grievances and demands," he pointed out.
It was explained to the pilots that any decision required a board meeting of the AA and a committee meeting of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The management conveyed to the pilots that a package meeting their demands would be announced towards the end of February.
Notwithstanding this they went on a preemptive leave.
But even now the Alliance Air management has kept the doors open for a dialogue both in Kolkata and Delhi, Ghosh added.
