NEW DELHI: Discontent is brewing among pilots in the public sector Indian Airlines. Sixty-two pilots have sought "No Objection Certificate" from the management citing their desire to "join a suitable progressive airline" where their professional career and financial interests would be looked after.

Though none of the pilots has submitted his resignation, highly placed IA sources feel it is a pressure tactic employed by the pilots at a time when the State-owned carrier is set for some changes in its management echelons. The IA Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Sunil Arora, is completing his five-year tenure this Sunday. As the search committee set up recently is yet to find a successor, indications are that the senior most Deputy Managing Director, who looks after the airline's finances, Sushma Chawla, will be given temporary charge.

Several applications

Since there are no negotiations at the moment between the IA management and pilots, as a preliminary step many pilots have applied to the Director (Operations) for the "No Objection Certificate'' at the earliest to exercise their option to leave Indian Airlines. Several applications for NOCs, copies of which were made available to The Hindu, were submitted to the General Manager (Operations), Northern Region, on June 8.

As more private domestic carriers take to the skies and the civil aviation sector sees rapid expansion, there is a considerable shortage of trained pilots, ground engineers, cabin crew and other airline staff. Aviation sources predict that an acute shortage of pilots and other trained staff will be felt in the country over the next six months. Two of the leading private carriers — Jet Airways and Air Sahara — are already flying international to South-east Asian destinations and Jet Airways launched its Mumbai-London flight last month.

Both Jet and Sahara have given huge raises to their pilots and new entrants like Kingfisher and SpiceJet are also offering fat pay packets.

On an average, a pilot for the private carriers earns salaries of Rs. 45 lakhs to 60 lakhs per annum as against the Indian Airlines salaries ranging from Rs. 35 lakhs to a maximum of Rs. 70 lakhs annually. It is learnt that the IA management had offered a raise of nearly 50 per cent to the pilots but they wanted parity with the market rate.

IA sources brushed aside the applications for NOCs as a "pressure tactic" by a lobby of pilots to secure a better financial package. If the pilots were serious they should have first resigned, applied for a job in another airline and then sought NOC for specific reasons, sources said.

Ironically, IA had cried foul about a decade ago when Jet and Sahara began their operations luring trained pilots, instructors and commanders from IA with attractive salaries and perks.

As more private carriers are set to launch their operations by this winter, the issue of poaching of pilots and cabin crew has acquired a new relevance prompting the intervention of the Civil Aviation Ministry, which stepped in to sober an otherwise murky fight among airlines.

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