JEDDAH: Air India flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam will restore their normal schedule from Thursday after a five-day disruption due to a pilots’ strike, an airline official said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the pilots ended their strike to protest pay cuts following assurances from India’s Civil Aviation Ministry.
Flights from Kozhikode, Hyderabad and Mumbai arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday, although some hours behind schedule. Consequently, there was a delay in their return flights.
Travel agents said India’s national carrier, which had closed its flights until Oct. 15 on Tuesday due to the strike, had since reopened them and bookings were continuing for all flights from Thursday onward.
“We have started requests for flight bookings,” a major travel agent said on Wednesday evening.
The strike began Saturday with 180 Air India pilots going on sick leave to protest a proposed cut in their productivity-linked incentives.
Up to Tuesday, day four of the strike, 100 flights had been canceled, both domestic and international. On Wednesday, 28 flights were chopped.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Capt. V.K. Bhalla said on behalf of the pilots’ association that they decided to call off their stir following the government’s intervention.
“I am very grateful to the prime minister who asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for intervening in the crisis. I have full faith on the assurances given by our aviation minister,” said Bhalla.
He said there would be a turn-around committee formed to look into the demands of the pilots. “The strike was for a serious issue. Now that the issue has been resolved, there is no pointing continuing the strike,” he said.
