India's national carrier Air India (AI) is facing mass resignations as pilots are unhappy with their salary and promotion.
More than 100 Airbus A-320 pilots submitted their resignations after their demands for a raise in salary and promotion fell on deaf ears.
This came in the backdrop of the Indian government's decision to initiate the process of divestment of Air India's stake, which has a debt of over Rs60,000 crores .
A pilot, who had recently resigned from AI, said, "AI management should listen to our grievances. Our demand regarding salary hike and promotion is long pending before them but they have failed to give a strong assurance."
He added that the pilots have to pay back hefty loans. "We are not even able to withdraw our salary on time," he said.
The pilots are first hired for five years on a contractual basis with a low salary, he claimed, adding that they were hopeful of getting a raise and promotion as they gain experience.
Presently, IndigoAir, GoAir, Vistara and Air Asia, are the ones operating Airbus A-320 flights.
On being asked if the operations of the national carrier will suffer due to the mass resignations, an Air India spokesperson said that it has surplus pilots.
At present, AI has a total of 2,000 pilots out of whom 400 are executive level.