MUMBAI: Air India sacked six union leaders on Wednesday and suspended two others after a strike by hundreds of pilots forced the cancellation of dozens of flights, including on international routes.
Airline officials said that six senior figures at the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (IPCA) were sacked after some 660 of the union's 800 members staged a walk-out.
At least 24 flights were cancelled from midnight local time. Most of them were on domestic routes but flights to Kathmandu, Bangkok and Singapore were also scrapped, officials told AFP.
Air India said in a statement that it had combined flights to maintain operations and was making "every possible effort to maintain normalcy" for affected passengers.
The ICPA represents pilots who flew for the domestic carrier Indian Airlines before a merger with Air India.
The union claims that Air India pilots are paid a higher fixed salary than its members and they have seen a cut in the number of flights by between 30 and 40 percent.
The flag carrier said it was working to resolve the pay discrepancies but said the union was striking despite ongoing efforts at conciliation, claiming the IPCA refused to "have a meaningful dialogue" with management.
"Even in case of failure of negotiations... no strike is legally permitted during the pendency of the case," Air India said in a statement.
"In view of this the management has de-recognised (the) ICPA and sealed their offices."
India's aviation minister Vayala Ravi stepped in to urge both sides to talk, as airline chief Arvind Jadhav called the strikers "impatient" and adamant on tarnishing the image of the company.
Ailing Air India has been trying to cut costs, modernise its fleet and battle fierce competition from private carriers in the country's fast-growing aviation sector.
The airline is waiting for approval of a five-year turnaround plan, which includes an infusion of government equity and proposals to increase the size of its fleet and rationalise routes.
In March, Air India's Austrian chief operating officer Gustav Baldauf resigned after complaining of government interference in the airline's day-to-day operations.
ICPA general secretary Captain Rishabh Kapur, who was reportedly among the six union leaders who were sacked, told the Press Trust of India news agency that Air India management were "solely responsible" for the carrier's financial problems.
He accused them of "sabotaging" the airline's future, claiming that purchases of new aircraft and technical upgrades were designed to kill employee morale, forcing them to protest with the ultimate aim of a sell-off.
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