On Saturday more than 900 flights of India’s budget carrier IndiGo airlines were delayed as a majority of its crew members went on sick leave. The delays and cancellation of IndiGo flights happened on the very same day when Air India conducted a recruitment drive. Citing this, IndiGo has increased the salaries of their pilots and crew members by 8 per cent.
A Hike Of 16 Per Cent In 4 Months
The reason behind 55 per cent of IndiGo’s flights being delayed was the unavailability of its crew members and pilots due to mass sick leave. This is what the data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation revealed. However, there has been a lot of disappointment brewing among the crew members and the pilots as IndiGo had cut down their salaries during the pandemic and did not reinstitute them even though the travel became normal. Their salaries were given an 8 per cent hike in the month of April and now again from August 1, they will get an additional 8 per cent hike. This means a hike of 16 per cent in about 4 months.
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IndiGo Employees Ready To Switch
Some of the IndiGo pilots and crew members, in an interview, spoke about the problems they have been facing while working for the budget carrier. A senior employee revealed that the employees were treated very badly during the two years of the pandemic with forceful salary cuts and inhumane management practices. They spoke about how they were ready to switch to Air India in the interview. This is what gave birth to the decision for their salaries to be increased by IndiGo airlines.
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Also read: IndiGo Pilots, Cabin Crew Look For New Jobs As Stress Levels Increase