IndiGo suspends pilots on disciplinary grounds

New Delhi, April 5

Airline major IndiGo on Monday suspended some of its pilots on disciplinary grounds.

In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said: "We confirm that a handful of IndiGo pilots have been suspended from duty for indulging in activities that are in contravention to the terms of their employment and in violation of the code of conduct of the company."

According to airline sources, the pilots in question wanted to stir up a protest against Covid-related pay cuts.

Recently, IndiGo, which is the largest player by domestic market and fleet size, announced 8 per cent pay hike for its pilots effective from this month.

The airline said that it will raise pilots' pay by another 6.5 per cent by November, if everything goes well.

On the other hand, the preceding pay cut was at 28 per cent, so a difference still exists between pre and post-Covid pay scales.

Lately, domestic airlines have started to raise pilots' pay as passenger traffic inches closer to pre-Covid levels as well as to stave-off poaching of the key human resource.