Indigo Hikes Pilot Salaries By 8% After Mass Leave Cripples Operations

Despite recent controversies IndiGo will hike the salaries of its pilots by a further 8 per cent from August 1.

The airline will also restore overtime allowance for pilots to the pre-Covid level.

Mass leave

All this comes days after over 900 of its flights were hit by delays due to non-availability of cabin crew and staff.

A large number of cabin crew members reported sick, but were reportedly attending rival airline Air India’s recruitment drive which was happening on the same date.

Unhappiness within the ranks

This discontentment among staff can be attributed to the carrier’s pandemic-induced pay cuts and layoffs.

On top of that they were often overworked during the pandemic due to strict regulations on flying and quarantine.

Flight fatigue and living out of hotels had taken a toll on them as well.

Asks AI to not poach

Reportedly, IndiGo management reached out to Air India, asking it to not recruit its crew without a no-objection certificate from the employer.

Flight crew must serve a 3-month notice period as per DGCA mandate but this can be cut short with the employers’ consent.

Wages brought back to normal

This is the second hike after March 31 when salaries were increased by 8 per cent in view of the continuous steady flight operations.

The wages are being reinstated after nearly two years when the carrier announced a 28 per cent pay cut for pilots in 2020.

However, despite the latest hike, pilots’ remuneration is still 16 per cent lower than their pre-Covid level salaries.

Work pattern

In order to boost the usage of its aircraft, IndiGo is reinstating a work pattern for pilots which will ensure higher earnings but fewer leaves.

For this month, IndiGo has budgeted for an average of 1,550 flights daily, and it utilizes its aircraft for around 13 hours.

Additionally, with flight operations nearing complete recovery, IndiGo pilots’ layover and deadhead allowances for pilots will be reinstated from July 31.